


The Claims Upon Our Hearts

by Lightning_Bee



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Character Deaths, Claiming, Dark Castiel, Dom/sub, Dubious Consent, Forced Bonding, Heaven's Civil War, Hurt Gabriel, M/M, Multi, Non Consensual, OFC - Freeform, One sided Destiel, One sided Gabriel/Castiel, Return of Characters, Sexual Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-07
Updated: 2012-11-15
Packaged: 2017-11-18 04:18:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 65,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/556817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightning_Bee/pseuds/Lightning_Bee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Every angel has a dark side that they must embrace at least once. It is only a matter of time before the angel of Thursday finds his." AU from 6.14. Castiel goes a step too far after the return of a familiar face leads to the reveal of a whole new side in the angelic war,but Cas couldn't be evil, right?<br/>DarkCas, various slash pairings, some dub/non con.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sweet Dreams

__**A/N: Set straight after Mannequin 3: The Reckoning (6.14)**  
Pairings (over the course of the whole fic) dom/sub: Main: One sided Castiel/Gabriel, Sam/Gabriel (Sabriel), Dean/OFC (Eloa) and Lucifer/Michael Past: Lucifer/OFC (Eloa) Strong hints at One sided Desitel.  
Disclaimer: I am disclaiming, you see how it says disclaimer? Good.  
A/N2: Also, if you want to watch the trailer for this fic just search 'Claims Upon Our Hearts SPN Fanfic Trailer' and you should find it :) 

_-Dean-_

Dean groaned and threw himself onto one of the two queen beds of the room Sam and him were staying for the night. The motel had looked crappy from the outside and was just as bad inside but he didn't really care. It was better than some places they'd stayed in. Sam followed him in and sighed, dumping his bag down and sitting on the edge of the other bed.

"Today was officially shit," the elder announced, stretching out on his bed before rolling over so he was on his side to look at his brother. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, but at least we've got rid of the spirit."

"At the cost of that girl's life!" Dean growled back.

"We've been through this already Dean. There was nothing more we could do."

"Yeah but-" Dean began, sitting up properly now. He was interrupted by a bright flash from outside the window and a crash as something hit the ground in front of them hard, rolling across the room and crashing into the bathroom door in a blur of dark blue. Dean was surprised the door didn't smash at the force of the impact. Both brothers jumped up quickly, ready for action, when the 'thing' let out a low moan and they realised it wasn't so much as something as someone. Uncurling from their ball like position the person jumped up and Sam gasped at the familiarity of exactly who was in front of them,

"Gabriel?" The angel glanced at him quickly then at the window, running a hand through his hair nervously and straightening his navy shirt with a click of the fingers of his other hand.

"Hey kiddo," he greeted, crossing the room swiftly so he was at the room door in half a second. Sam took a step forward with a frown, going to speak but Gabriel cut him off, waving a hand at him. "Gotta run. I'll explain later…maybe…"

"You're not going anywhere," A cold voice said from by the window. Gabriel froze in his position, one hand on the door knob, and the Winchesters whipped round to face the speaker, confused and unsure of themselves. Dean's eyes widened at who the source was, his expression similar to that of Sam's just seconds before.

"Cas?" he asked uncertainly. The new arrival ignored him, taking a slow step forward.

"Do not make this difficult Gabriel," Castiel continued. "It would harm my cause to hurt you." The archangel suddenly broke from his spot at the door, glaring at the other seraph with furious eyes.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news brother but I'm going no where with you," he snapped. Castiel didn't flinch at his expression or tone but the brothers did, Gabriel sounded much more than just infuriated. Something in his voice made him sound down right deadly. Nervously Sam stepped forward.

"Look guys, I know that you're both really-" he didn't get to finished his sentence before both him and Dean were thrown against the wall above their respective beds.

"What the hell?" Dean yelped struggling as an invisible power left them floating helplessly.

"I am sorry to have to do this," Castiel told them, not even sparing them a glance as his eyes fixed on Gabriel. "But I cannot allow you to get in my way."

"They know I'm back now Cassie," the archangel hissed viciously "You can't keep the truth hidden anymore!"

"Truth? What truth?" Sam asked, copying his brother's actions against the threads of magic holding them in their places. Castiel smiled slightly and shook his head at them as Gabriel attempted to continue.

"He's found a way to beat Raphael in the war and he's going to-" Suddenly he fell silent, almost as if his throat had closed against him and his amber eyes widen as he looked at Castiel in shock. Dean and Sam both followed his panicked gaze, wondering why he looked so afraid.

"You are not as powerful as you once were," the younger celestial spirit explained smugness colouring his tone. "And, as God brought you back due to my prayers, he has gifted them to me making you more susceptible to mine, hence why you are having difficulty with flight. Now, you will come with me." Shaking his head Gabriel took a step backwards, challenge in his eyes. Castiel sighed loudly at the action and Gabriel tilted his head to one side as he drew out a familiar silver knife – an archangel's blade. Sam's eyes widened, realising exactly what the weapon implied for the arguing angels. The younger of the two, however, glanced at it indifferently, his own blade sliding into his hand from the arm of his trench coat.

"You want me?" Gabriel asked dangerously, his voice returning as the subject diverted to what Castiel deemed as safer ground. "Try and take me." In his position stuck on the wall Dean swallowed as Castiel's jaw twitched slightly in response. The line was something out of a cheesy movie to be sure but the way that Gabriel said it made it more terrifying than funny. It was clear that the angels were serious. This was no game – this was war. Without warning Castiel attacked, knife glittering as he lunged forward to slash at his opponent. Gabriel jumped back swiftly, just missing the hit in a well practised movement and the Winchesters flinched, staring as the fight continued.

The first move was the only one they truly saw. The rest were blurs of colour as the angels picked up their battle until they were at an incredible speed, seeming to be evenly matched now that Gabriel's powers were ineffective against the other man. It wasn't until the blurs began to get closer to the wall opposite them that the brothers could see who had the upper hand. The blot of tan that was Castiel was the one leading, the navy shadow of Gabriel being herded into the corner where wall met wall. Sam briefly wondered whether to shout out – warn Gabriel before he was trapped but something stopped his tongue. He blinked rapidly, eyes flickering to Dean who looked like he was struggling with the exact same problem. With a shiver of horror he realised what was wrong. Castiel must have silenced them just as he had with Gabriel moments before. He fought against his invisible bonds with even more rigor now. He didn't know what the angel was up to but he knew that this had to be wrong. His struggles proved useless and he bit his lip as the two blurs suddenly stilled, returning to their usual visual shapes. Castiel had both blades now, one held to Gabriel's throat.

"You will come with me now," he ordered coldly. Gabriel smirked but the brothers could tell it was false. He was trembling, defeated and afraid but they still couldn't understand why. Castiel was acting oddly but they weren't sure why it would warrant such a strong reaction.

"You think I'll do what you say just because you beat my ass?" the elder angel said scornfully, his hands pressed close to his sides. There was silence for a moment and the Winchesters both stilled in their useless efforts when they realised they would not be able to help the archangel. Castiel smiled slowly amusement dancing in his eyes, not looking away from his captive.

"No. I think you will do what I say because you are mine," he replied dropping the knife that was not at Gabriel's neck. Sam and Dean both frowned, unsure of what he was doing. Gabriel seemed to know, however, and shrank back closer to the wall.

"No!" he growled before trying to dart away at the revelation that only an angel could understand. Castiel blocked him at a similar speed, dropping the other blade and slamming him against the wall. Gabriel paused for a second, disorientated, before moving to make another attempt but froze when Castiel magically plunged an arm into his chest in haste. Light swirled around the entry point brightly and the archangel choked back a sob, sagging backward slightly against the wall as he repeated his rejection. His head smacking painfully against the hard plaster as he did so. "No…" The word had lost its power now and Dean and Sam could see something in him changing. Breaking. The sound was almost a plea, breaking off to a whimpering noise that they had never heard any angel make before.

"Cas, for fuck's sake, stop it!" Dean managed to shout out. The angel ignored him pointedly and moved his arm up a little, wrenching another pained gasp from Gabriel's throat.

"Castiel please don't do this," the archangel begged, voice cracking with the strain of what the other was doing to him. If he was human he knew that his soul would have been crushed by the force being used against him and he was thankful he was safe from such torture. Small mercies he guessed. However, the overwhelming weight was on his grace instead, keeping him in place for what was next on Castiel's agenda – his submission in a mate bond. Something Gabriel would never allow if he had a choice but Castiel was going to force on him with just a few words of Enochian. He was only briefly aware that the Winchesters were there to see his degradation at this point and willingly to do anything to prevent it from going further. "I'll return to heaven, help you achieve your goals, learn to love you as you want me to and even die for you in battle if I must but only if you just stop. Let me keep my will." Castiel shook his head, voice rough as he replied.

"You made your choice when you ran Gabriel and cannot change it. Therefore, I will not change mine." As soon as the denial had fallen from the angel's lips he clenched his hand fully around Gabriel's grace, ignoring the yells of the two humans still stuck against the wall just metres away. The messenger of the lord let out a soft cry of pain, knowing resistance was pointless at this stage and letting the familiar language of heaven washed over him as Castiel recited the binding spell of a dominant mate. "Coraxo oiad monasci ol oiad ge-iad olani plapli ol nostoah in io-iad oe olani ol booapis ol gemeganza od noasmi ol hoath." At the final word the elder angel closed his eyes slowly in shamed acceptance, sagging forward into the other man's arms limply when he retracted his hand from his grace and chest. His legs felt like jelly and he was in no shape to deny his place anymore, especially with the spell complete.

"I hate you," he muttered into Castiel's ear his head spinning as Castiel let go of his grace. There was silence between them for a moment; the protesting voices of the Winchester brothers fading further into the background as the younger celestial spirit smirked slowly, yanking Gabriel's head back by his hair and whispering more Enochian in his ear.

"Crp ol g-chis-ge ladnah in Gabriel, crcrg donasdogamatastos sonfa netaab oadriax," The archangel bit his lip to stop himself from groaning, relaxing further into Castiel's grip in submission. He wouldn't fight for himself anymore. He doubted he even could.

"Amiran," he muttered in woeful agreement quickly silenced by the crashing of lips down on his own, Castiel's tongue pillaging his mouth as he pleased. When the younger seraph pulled away Gabriel blinked, noticing a flash of brown in the opposite corner of the room. It was only there for a moment but it confirmed that there was still hope for him, even after being claimed. Brown meant brunette and brunette meant Eloa. (Although he would never have taken her appearance as a good thing before the failing of the attempted apocalypse.) Castiel hadn't noticed the blur of colour, which Gabriel supposed didn't matter too much for the dominant one in the short term but would in the long run. Turning to Sam and Dean, who were still held at the wall through angelic power, Castiel kept one hand fisted in the archangel's shirt and began to address them.

"When I release you from your bonds you will not attack," he stated simply "And you will not move closer to Gabriel or to me." The two brothers nodded in shock and Gabriel suddenly realised that they'd just witnessed him and Castiel 'making out' as it were. His mouth twitched into a small, barely noticeable smirk – and people thought the Winchesters were erotically co-dependant on each other. Obviously they didn't know angels were much kinkier. Castiel tilted his head a fraction to the left and broke the spell holding the humans. They dropped down on their beds immediately recovering in seconds and jumping to their feet.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Cas?" Dean demanded, gesturing wilding at Gabriel to emphasise his point. "You just…I don't even know what you just did but I could tell that was wrong man!"

"I have claimed Gabriel. It is normal for angels to bind their submissive partners to them. There is nothing 'wrong' with doing so." Gabriel fixed his eyes to the floor in shame at Castiel's blunt and oh so true comeback.

"Submissive partner?" Dean repeated incredulously "Dude, there is nothing submissive about the guy. Let alone gay."

"The first bit is true," the archangel muttered "But the second not so much. I have no preference as such. Not that it matters now." He was well aware of how defeated he sounded. Sam stared at him for a moment before speaking up.

"Reverse it," he ordered, glaring at Castiel.

"I will not. I need him within my control."

"Yeah, 'cause that's all you want the bond for," Gabriel chipped in sarcastically. Sam sticking up for him had hit something within the angel turned trickster. The forced mate connection had not corrupted his grace yet, although he knew it would simply because it had been involuntary on his part; the tie between them would make him submissive without him surrendering to it before he was compelled to.

"Yeah, we did see you snog him just a minute ago Cas and he didn't look particularly willing," Dean added, gaze flickering between them as Castiel's hand tightened in Gabriel's shirt.

"Whether I merely want it for control is none of your concern," he snapped.

"Actually it is," Sam argued. "Gabriel came to us when you were chasing him. He wants our help and so we're going to give him it." The archangel gave them a grateful smile which quickly fell when Castiel let out a soft growl.

"You will not remember seeing him to help," he told them, freezing Gabriel in position with a flick of his hand and then placing two fingers to each of the Winchesters heads before they could react. They fell back onto their beds unconscious immediately, memories of the last hour erased so they wouldn't challenge him again. An uncharacteristic whimper fell from Gabriel's lips at this, knowing that he would receive no rescue from the brothers now. Castiel turned back to him with a smirk. "And now you will come with me." Gabriel unfroze suddenly at his words and stared at the floor in front of him.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" he asked, looking up into the other man's eyes.

"No, you don't," the younger confirmed, taking hold of his forearm in a tight grip. Gabriel sighed, glancing at the Winchesters sadly.

"Let's go then."

_**A/N3: The spell and other phrases have been translated into Enochian by - the online translator. In English the spell reads as "Under the name of the Lord I take you as mine forever in time to serve my will and be my love." While the phrases that follow are "But you are now mine, Gabriel, until hell reigns over heaven" and "Yours"** _


	2. Torn

_**A few hours later...** _

_-Dean-_

Dean groaned loudly as he sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He had a splitting headache and he was boiling hot. Annoyed, he went to push his bed covers off him, blinking in surprise when he realised they weren't there. He glanced around the room in confusion, noticing that Sam was asleep in another bed a little way away from him fully clothed and on top of the covers as well. He shook his head slightly and glanced down at himself. He was still dressed in his jeans and t-shirt too. Hell, he even had his shoes on for crying out loud. The elder Winchester ran a hand through his hair in bewilderment. Neither of them ever slept in their day clothes. He swung his legs round out of the bed quickly and stood up. They had probably just got trashed after their shitty day of so called hunting. It would explain his memory problem as well – he couldn't even remember getting to the motel. A soft moan from the other bed announced Sam was waking and Dean glanced at his brother as he too sat up.

"What the hell did we do last night man?" Sam asked sleepily, trying to smooth out his hair. It was a losing battle. Dean shook his head.

"I was hoping you would tell me," he admitted. "We must of got trashed or something 'cause it's just one big blank to me."

"Same here," Sam replied as he stood up. "First call on shower."

"No can do man," Dean replied with a grin, whizzing into the bathroom with lightning speed. He briefly heard Sam call him a jerk as he slammed the door shut and retaliated with a quick 'Sucks to be you bitch' before turning to the shower.

Maybe he'd use all the hot water just to piss Sam off.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_ **Meanwhile…** _

_-Gabriel-_

Gabriel was close to screaming. He didn't know how Castiel had managed to get himself a completely furnished house (and he didn't want to know considering how far off the rails the angel seemed to have gone) but it was pissing him off already. His dominant mate (who he refused to call 'Master' no matter what Castiel wanted him to do) had somehow trapped him there, bending him to his will as if he was human and not an archangel. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant place to stay but Gabriel preferred to stay in places that were pretty basic. This house was anything but. Every room was decorated with some kind of fancy wallpaper and had thick carpet fitted on the floors in plush cream, white or black. The furniture was ordinate too; black leather and dark oak and silk bed covers. In a way Gabriel supposed he should be grateful at least for the carpet in his current position. They were currently in the lounge, Castiel relaxing back on a black leather sofa with Gabriel unwillingly sat at his feet like some sort of _dog_. The angel of Thursday was even playing with his hair for crying out loud. Staring at the TV screen showing some crappy comedy show he had no interest in Gabriel tried to blank out his situation.

"You cannot ignore the truth Gabriel," Castiel told him quietly, forcing him to face reality. The archangel bit his lip as the other man's hand fisted in his ochre locks. "You belong to me and sooner or later you must embrace it." Gabriel contemplated how to respond for a moment. He was currently powerless against Castiel so it wasn't a good idea to provoke him. Gabriel, however, was never one to stick with the safe option.

"You're a dick. Therefore, I'm just gonna ignore you and your stupid little claiming," he snapped, wincing when Castiel yanked his head back roughly by his hair.

"Do not talk to me like that," the younger growled, eyes flashing dangerously in fury. Gabriel let out a soft hiss of pain, looking up at his dominant with defiant eyes and finding nothing of the angel he had once known.

"What the hell happened to you Cas?" he murmured "You used to be…sweet, and devoted to our father."

"Father abandoned us. I believe the phrase best here would be something along the lines of 'I grew up'," Castiel replied, tone still dripping with anger, he pulled his hand out of Gabriel's hair suddenly and the elder angel's head dropped.

"Castiel…" he began imploringly before being interrupted.

"Stand up." The order was sharp and dangerous. If it had been a physical force Gabriel knew it would have cut him down. Fear swirled in the pit of his stomach at what obeying would lead to.

"No." The word was barely a whisper but still a clear rejection. One that Gabriel knew he would pay for but defiance was all he could cling to right now. It would take time to break free from Castiel's hold and the bond between them, but insubordination was something for here and now rather than the future and he could take comfort in that.

"Gabriel, stand up!" Castiel hissed, standing himself and moving to in front of the kneeling angel. Gabriel didn't look up as he replied, knowing that his lack of eye contact would anger him even more.

"I said no."

"Do not defy me," the younger seraph warned "I will not tolerate it." Gabriel laughed softly but without true humour.

"You'll have to deal with it," he muttered, flinching when Castiel yanked him to his feet by the scruff of his shirt and forced his chin up so he was looking into his captor's eyes. The baby blues were as hard and cold as ice and he couldn't prevent his body trembling at his dominant's next words.

"I will administer punishment if I need to. Now, take a walk with me." Gabriel grit his teeth. He refused to lose his pride by doing what he was being ordered to do. A similarity to Lucifer really, but he tried not to dwell on it. He had more important things to worry about than being like his elder brother in that moment.

"I don't want to go for a walk," he replied coolly.

"You will join me anyway," Castiel told him and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p' with a bad attempt at his usual bravo. He waited for the other man to snap at him, or force him to walk somehow but neither happened. The archangel frowned, opening his mouth to speak. He didn't get to say anything though, as he was slammed into the nearest wall with a loud crash, plaster cracking behind his back as Castiel held him there. He winced slightly, unsuccessfully hiding a grimace of discomfort.

"Perhaps I was not clear enough," Castiel growled, hands slipping around his captive's neck and squeezing harshly "You will walk with me or I will make you walk with me."

"Fuck you," Gabriel choked out helplessly, trying to pull his hands away.

"I think not," the younger replied, dragging him away from the wall and turning him so that Gabriel's back was pressed against his chest looping one arm around the other angel's waist to hold him there. Gabriel struggled against him to no avail. There was little he could do to break Castiel's grip and he knew it. The truth was the power of their new bond drew around him like a leash when he tried. He wasn't just fighting Castiel with his resistance but his own grace as well. "I would suggest you cease fighting. You will harm yourself and that I cannot allow."

"I don't care what you _allow_ ," Gabriel hissed, thrashing in his hold with more rigors. The pressure around his waist merely tightened in response, keeping him in position. "Your commands mean _nothing_ to me." Castiel sighed, leaning down so his lips were brushing against the elder one's ear.

"Yet soon you will," he murmured "Because you must. You are no fool Gabriel, and you know what our bond means. You will obey whether you choose to or not because you _are_ my submissive and your main purpose _is_ to please me. It is merely a question of if you will give in willingly or whether your grace decides for you." Gabriel shivered slightly and the arm that was not holding him to Castiel began to rub slow circles on his right thigh, breath warm and soft against his cheek. "Why fight when you know you will lose?" Gabriel closed his eyes slowly, trying not to let the words affect him. He could feel his grace reaching, whispering to him how everything Castiel had said made perfect sense. He could be happy, so happy, if he just gave in. If he would allow Castiel to protect him, control him, _have_ him however he pleased then nothing would matter. Nothing other than Castiel's will. His eyes snapped open at that. He was an archangel. He bowed to no one other than his father and those his father ordered him to obey. He would not submit to this insolent young seraph who had forgotten his place. The bond did not matter, not if he resisted.

"I struggle because it is my right," he growled ducking his head away from Castiel. He felt Castiel's hands clench slightly in anger.

"You have no rights other than what I give you," the younger angel told him softly, danger in his voice. Gabriel rolled his eyes, trying to pull at his captor's arms to get away from him with little success.

"Only father takes away such privilege," he snapped, tensing for a moment before resuming his squirming, trying to slip from the other's grip to no avail.

"Father is not here to stop me," Castiel breathed calmly, holding him even tighter until Gabriel eventually stopped fighting, chest heaving with the effort of his struggle both physically and with his grace.

"Just let me go," the eldest of the two pleaded helplessly. The dark haired angel sighed loudly, breath ghosting over his brother's ear as he replied.

"No, Gabriel, I will not."

"Why? Just tell me why you're doing this!" Gabriel demanded, looking ahead of himself in anger and desperation. He hadn't noticed before, too focussed on struggling, but Castiel had manoeuvred them to in front of large, floor length mirror. Staring at his reflection Gabriel shivered. He looked even more trapped than he felt; he was leaning back a little on Castiel, the arm around his waist forcing him to, and the younger angel was towering over him, bend forwards slightly so he could mutter things into the archangel's ear. In spite of this, it was the difference in their eyes that got to Gabriel the most. His golden irises were distraught and wide with fear, fixed on his image with something akin to horror while Castiel's blues were bright and glinting with amusement and victory, flickering to their replicas only briefly. The contrast only increased his uneasiness and Castiel's lips slowly turned up in a smug smile as he bent his head slightly lower to Gabriel's neck, kissing it tenderly – so different to what his posture suggested he wanted to do.

"You know why I'm doing this," he murmured softly. The arm not holding Gabriel's waist trailing up his side and stopping so he could stroke the elder angel's hair. Gabriel screwed his eyes shut at the gentle touch, wanting to flinch but knowing it wouldn't help him.

"Dean should never have awakened your emotions," he replied sorrowfully.

"I am glad he did," Castiel told him, moving on to caress his cheek.

"You would be," Gabriel said, opening his eyes once more. "You haven't realised what you've become."

"I know exactly what I've become," the younger seraph argued lightly.

"You've gone rogue Castiel. Are you honestly telling me you know that and don't care?" the archangel asked hopelessly, wanting to raise his voice but resisting the urge.

"I haven't gone rogue. I am simply taking and doing what I want."

"That means the same thing Cas. Either way it's deserting and disobeying heaven," Gabriel informed him.

"As if you can lecture me about such things," Castiel snapped, causing Gabriel to tense. " _You_ have done both those things yourself and I am not forsaking heaven. I am at war with one of its archangels. Nothing more."

"No other angel would dare to do what you are attempting with Crowley," the archangel pointed out, voice guarded and soft. Castiel was silent for a long moment before licking at line up Gabriel's neck, earning a gasp of shock from his captive.

"No other angel has had this much reason," he muttered, nibbling marks onto the soft flesh of the smaller one's neck with sharp teeth. "To save the Winchesters." He made a sharper bite at his prisoner's pulse point. "To save Earth and Heaven." Another bite, even harder than the last resulting in a small whimper. "To have you." Gabriel frowned.

"You will never," he gasped slightly as Castiel nipped his ear, ignoring his captive's words "- have me."

"What makes you think I have not already got you?" the younger angel asked in dark amusement. "You struggle and struggle, cursing me with words and denying everything I say and yet you are still in my grasp. Surely you can see that I do have you."

"Capturing someone and having someone are not mutually inclusive," Gabriel retorted, wondering whether he should try fighting again when he knew it would be useless.

"They are not mutually exclusive either," Castiel breathed, gaining a shiver from the archangel who sighed turning his head slightly to try and look at him face to face; when it didn't work he stared back into the mirror catching his kidnapper's eyes there instead.

"Let me go Cas," he pleaded quietly.

"You know that deep down you do not want me to," the seraph replied, pressing his lips to the pulse point of Gabriel's neck. The elder angel knew he could feel it speeding and let out a groan. Castiel was right to an extent; his grace did not want to be pulled away from its dominant, but he also was wrong. Gabriel, the part that had been separated from heaven for so long, wanted to be out of this position completely. "You want to be owned," Castiel added, smirking against the skin of his neck. The archangel tried to shake his head but Castiel's position prevented his movement.

"No, I don't." He felt the younger angel's smile disappear, a snarl replacing it.

"Do not lie to me," Castiel growled. "We both know the truth of my statement."

"Then you know it's not you who I want claiming me," Gabriel hissed. Castiel laughed harshly.

"He will never want you," he sneered, placing hard kisses up his prisoner's neck between words "No one other than me ever will. You are beautiful Gabriel, there is no doubt about that, but you are also difficult to handle. You want and require force in everything. I can provide you with that. He never will."

"You don't know that," the captured seraph said, sounding desperate. Once again Castiel was only partially right. Yes, Gabriel wanted to be controlled, owned and made to submit but only by _one_ person. No one else. Castiel wasn't that person.

"I can prove it to you," the younger angel murmured, softening once again at his distress but not letting him go. "I can show you how much he doesn't want you. I can give you evidence that he doesn't care." The archangel let out a soft sob, head dropping so he could stare at the floor.

"Don't," he whispered helplessly.

"You need to face the truth," Castiel continued, voice gentle now, so different to how it had been just a minute previously.

"Where did that lead you?" his hostage asked faintly. Castiel's back stiffened in a mixture of anger and uneasiness. He opened his mouth to speak but Gabriel cut him off. "You can't deny it Cas. It was so obvious to everyone. Even Sam must have suspected."

"I have made my peace with it," Castiel replied, warning in his tone.

"Is that why you're acting like this now? This is your peace?"

"This is my moving on," he growled.

"Why would I want to move on if only to end up like you?" Gabriel asked coolly "You may have got over your feelings for Dean through changing but what you've become is nothing that I want to be." Castiel snarled and looked up, glaring into the mirror and fisted his spare hand into Gabriel's hair and tugging his head back painfully rough.

"Sam Winchester will never love you!"

"Well I love him!" Gabriel yelled back "I love him and I'm not letting that go because you want me to!" Silence fell between them at his declaration, neither of them moving and both breathing heavily in anger. Gabriel looked into the mirror once more and his reflection looked back at him, face flushed with emotion and lips parted to suck in extra air. Behind him Castiel looked only slightly effected, only his breathing and tenseness in his shoulders being the reactions gained. The younger angel caught his eye in the mirror suddenly, a dark emotion swimming in the blue.

"Then I'll make you," he scowled.

"W-what?" Gabriel stammered, trying to wrench his head out of his captor's grip. Castiel held on, not allowing any movement.

"You will move on Gabriel. No matter what."

"Castiel please…" The hand in his hair loosened as the younger angel slowly trailed it down his side. "You don't want to do this…"

"Oh but I do," Castiel breathed into his ear. "You may not understand it Gabriel, but I do truly want this. I'm going to own you completely, forever. I promise you that."

"I don't-"

"Watch in the mirror," Castiel ordered quietly, cutting across the archangel's protest. "I want you to watch as you fall apart in my arms." Gabriel shook his head swiftly in objection. He would not let Castiel do this, he resolved, summoning the few parts of his grace that Castiel did not yet have power over. This was his last chance to break free of his abductor's hold. If this failed then he would never escape alone.

"I am not your toy!" he exclaimed, surging his little strength in a grace to grace attack. Castiel froze in surprise for a moment then laughed, relaxing and batting away the elder angel's feeble mental attack with a mixture of his grace and Gabriel's own. Gabriel slumped against his chest in defeat, energy stolen by his last attempt to escape.

"Behave," he warned sounding amused. Gabriel let out a small whimper, proof of just how defenceless he now was. Castiel coaxed his chin up with his hand gently, making him look at their reflections once again. "Now watch." Gabriel sighed slightly in grudging acceptance, eyes fixing on the mirror with a hateful glint in them. Without further ado Castiel slid his hand down to the front of Gabriel's jeans, placing softer kisses up his neck while the other arm stayed in its original position to prevent his prisoner from moving. The archangel's eyes widened in fear.

"I-"

"Hush," Castiel murmured and although his tone was soft Gabriel could sense the threat behind it. So he remained silent, staring at the mirror as he had been instructed. Nimble fingers made quick work of popping the button on his jeans and pulling down the zipper and Gabriel shivered as he tried not to let panic take hold of him. An involuntary moan slipped from his lips as Castiel's hand then slipped into his boxers, taking a firm grip on what the archangel could shamefully admit was a growing erection. Not that he wanted this, but his body always had a similar response to these types of situations. He thrived off the lack of control. After all, as an archangel few could ever control him. At first this had seemed ironic to him, amusing almost. Now it merely seemed like a curse. Clenching his jaw tightly Gabriel glared at himself in the mirror. He would not let his body beat him into submission as Castiel had done so many times already. This would not be another victory over him. The younger angel laughed into his ear, whispering to him mockingly and he began to move his hand with confidence. "Does that feel good _brother_?"

"N-no," he gasped back, voice weak even to his own ears. He was losing already; he could feel his little bit of control slipping already with every touch. How quickly he was beginning to succumb, he thought helplessly. It was almost embarrassing. Yet he couldn't deny the truth, all he could think about was Castiel's fingers brushing against the hot skin of his vessel, eyes glazing slightly as he watched their reflections in the mirror. He looked weak compared to Castiel and his expressions made that even more obvious; lips parted and cheeks flushed, breathless and needy.

"I think you're lying," Castiel breathed, nipping his ear and twisting his hand just enough to make his captive arch into the touch, his body silently begging for more. Their eyes met in the mirror; clear blue fixed intently on the clouded over gold. "I think you're just denying the truth, trying to deny _me_." Gabriel trembled slightly in his hold.

"You think I can in this position?" he asked breathlessly, trying to hold it together even as his hips bucked forward into Castiel's hand, seeking more friction. The younger seraph chuckled and made his stroking a little harder, causing the archangel to curse under his breath and his hips thrust into the movement uncontrollably.

"Oh Gabriel. I _know_ you," he taunted, pale fire dancing in his eyes in his amusement. "You're trying so hard not to break." He used the arm holding Gabriel to pull his captive impossibly closer, his own erection pressing against the trembling messenger of God's vessel. Gabriel let out a soft moan and his eyes fluttered closed at the new sensation. He knew that this was wrong but he was unable to hold it back at this point. Weakness and exhaustion from his previous struggling made his all too pliant for resistance now. Particularly when it felt so amazing; the pleasure flowing through his body in waves. "Just relax," Castiel murmured softly.

"Cas…" Gabriel whispered, head dropping back against Castiel's shoulder as he obeyed thoughtlessly. Just this once, he reasoned as another touch made his mind go blissfully blank. He gasped with newfound ecstasy. "I-I need…"

"What do you need brother?" the other angel asked, darkly smug as he continued his ministrations. "Faster? Harder? More, more, more?" Gabriel didn't react to his mocking tone making Castiel smile in satisfaction.

"Please…" the archangel begged, his own hand sneaking down towards the one in his pants. "I want to help." Castiel's eyes widen and he let out a slight growl, whether it was out of lust or annoyance Gabriel didn't care. He just wanted the torment to stop and end with the earth shattering pleasure he knew it would.

"No," the abductor purred into his ear after a moment, seeming to have considered his captive's request after his initial response. "Just my touch and my hand." Gabriel groaned stilling his hand, all the while wanting to protest but knowing it would get him nowhere. "And open your eyes," Castiel ordered, thumbing the head of the messenger's erection roughly. Gabriel surrendered to his whims wordlessly, spots dancing in his vision as white hot pleasure coursed through his body once more. "That's it," the younger angel crooned, digging his nails ever so slightly into the hard flesh in his hand. The sharp bite of pain along with the sight of himself in the mirror; completely dishevelled and dominated, eyes wild, sent Gabriel tumbling over the edge with a broken cry. He was briefly aware of Castiel groaning in his own release, getting off on just the power high, as he slumped into his arms.

"This doesn't mean you've won," he muttered as Castiel's hold tightened again when he had recovered. The younger angel rolled his eyes, using one of Gabriel's old tricks to clean them up. The ex-trickster glared at him through the mirror, annoyed that Castiel was flaunting how easily he controlled Gabriel's grace. "You won't get away with this Castiel."

"I already have," the dominant seraph argued lightly, slowly buttoning and zipping up his captive's trousers. Gabriel shook his head as much as he could in his current position.

"She'll find you and she'll stop you," he told him confidently.

"She?" Castiel asked with a frown.

"You didn't notice brother but Lucifer wasn't the only one to escape the cage. He wasn't the only one captured in the depths of hell. Don't you remember Eloa, Castiel? The angel who Lucifer dragged down with him with his seduction?" Castiel was silent for a moment before shrugging slightly.

"It matters little," he replied. "I doubt she even knows what has happened to you, let alone come for revenge over your capture."

"Oh she knows and she's coming," Gabriel retorted, unable to hide the smugness in his voice because he had spoken to Eloa before he had confronted Lucifer and he knew her well enough from that to know she wouldn't stand by while he suffered. She may not have obtained as much power as Castiel but being stuck in a cage with Lucifer had probably taught her a fair few things. "I'll warn you now and I advise you take heed of what I'm saying. There is nothing you can do to stop her Cas. Hell, I expect even Raphael couldn't take her down."

"Yet Lucifer did," Castiel reminded him, sounding a little anxious now. Gabriel smirked, loving how he had turned the tables on his dominating younger brother.

"And you're no Lucifer," he stated simply. Castiel tensed, hesitating before replying.

"I do not need to be Lucifer. She will not save you. Not now and not ever." Gabriel laughed quietly, although it was still slightly forced. Castiel's lack of actual reaction unnerved him. Why wasn't the angel more threatened by the prospect?

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes," Castiel told him simply.

"How can you be?" the archangel asked, curious but rather uneasy at the same time. Castiel smirked before digging his fingers into Gabriel's hips in a tight grip.

"For when she comes to save you one of two things will stop her."

"What will that be then?" Gabriel questioned slowly. Castiel's smug grin got wider and his grip tightened a little more so the ex-trickster could feel bruises forming on the soft skin his hips.

"One, you do not wish to leave me." Without warning Castiel spun the archangel round so he was facing him and slammed him against the nearest wall. "Two, you are too broken to save." Gabriel's eyes widened in fear as the words sunk into his brain. The younger angel's eyes lit up in delight at his expression, sadistic pleasure spreading like fire through his veins.

"I will never break," Gabriel replied, voice shaking.

"We shall see brother," Castiel said smugly "Now, I think it's time we got even more acquainted with each other, don't you?"


	3. Unbreakable

_**Six days later…** _

_-Sam-_

Sam was pretty sure that he had never experienced an angel crash landing through his motel window into the ensuite bathroom door in the corner before but, weirdly, the whole incident did seem vaguely familiar. Not that he knew it was an angel when he first saw the blur barrelling through the room, of course, but it was pretty clear to him now that his new, unwelcome guest stood up, all of her injuries disappearing in seconds. Both Dean and himself jumped up quickly, ready for action, Dean cursing under his breath about actually wanting to sleep for once but the angel didn't seem all that interested. In fact, she ignored them and drew a knife from the belt of her jeans with a nervous glance at the window she has just broken through. Sam tensed, hand going to grab his own knife even though he knew it would be useless and Dean doing the same with the colt. Yet still she paid no attention to them.

"Hey lady-" Dean began, cutting himself off when she sliced her blade across her palm savagely, stepping over to the wall and starting to draw. The familiar form of an angel banishing sigil was finished in seconds and the woman slammed her wounded hand into the middle of it. She slumped soon after, resting her head against the slowly drying blood.

"Sam and Dean Winchester," she said slowly, her voice cracking a little at their surname.

"Yeah, and who the hell are you?" Dean asked, half glaring at her with the colt aimed at her chest. She groaned quietly and pushed herself away from the wall, running her bloodied hand through her dark brown hair, leaving streaks of blood through it even as the cut began to close.

"I am Eloa, an angel of the lord," she replied looking tired. She threw her knife at their feet in a gesture of surrender. "I am not here to harm you. I swear upon my father's name." Sam picked up the blade gingerly, glancing at Dean for his opinion of her.

"Whose side are you on in the war?" he questioned suspiciously.

"I would be lying if I said I was backing Castiel if that is what you mean;" the girl answered honestly, wincing slightly as Dean's eyes narrowed "I am not on either side of the war. I disagree with Raphael's plans but Castiel's methods…" she tailed off quickly. "That, however, is beside the point."

"How can you be on neither side of the war?" Dean jeered. Sam watched the angel closely as she sighed.

"I agree with neither of them," she stated simply. "Despite that, may I take refuge here for the night?" Sam's eyes widened.

"You want to stay with us?"

"I thought I made that clear," she said with a small frown.

"Yeah but why would you want to stay with us?" Dean snapped at her.

"I can leave if you wish. My arrival here was merely a coincidence. I was not looking for you if that is what you are implying. While I am here though I would prefer to rest where I know there are reliable sources of weaponry and also companions of high skill in the case of an attack," the seraph told them. Sam studied her for a moment before nodding.

"I think we should let her stay Dean."

"What? Sammy, you can't be serious. We know nothing about her!" the elder Winchester argued. "I say we call Cas and get his opinion."

"You know Cas is busy right now. He's in the middle of a war dude!"

"I am not here to cause you trouble. I think I'll go now," Eloa interrupted quietly.

"No, stay," Sam ordered. "Just because you have issues with almost every angel you come across Dean doesn't mean that you can take it out on the ones that actually need help." The angel's soft murmur of thanks was overpowered by Dean's angry retort.

"We can't trust her!" Sam opened his mouth to make a retort when Eloa cut in once again, voice soft.

"And what makes you think you can trust Castiel?" she asked. Dean rounded on her at that, eyes flashing dangerously.

"He pulled me out of hell, fell for us, helped us stop the apocalypse and now he's in a freaking civil war to protect mankind. I think _he_ has given us enough reason to trust him!" he yelled. Eloa stared at him for a long moment.

"You think that you know of all his actions Dean Winchester? Just because he is protecting humans does not mean he is worth trust," she replied simply.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dean growled.

"What it implies," the angel stated, looking unaffected by his glaring. "There are things you do not know about Castiel. Every angel has a dark side that they must embrace at least once. It is only a matter of time before the angel of Thursday finds his. He is one of the few who have not yet done so."

"So if every angel has gone through it why are you saying we shouldn't trust him?" Sam asked, ignoring Dean's heated expression of fury.

"My concern is simply whether he will be able to let go of his desires when they arise," Eloa told them "Not all angels can resist temptation."

"You think he can't take the heat?" Dean snapped incredulously.

"No, but I believe that lust is one of the more difficult sins to defeat. Lust and pride have been the downfalls of many angels. Even Lucifer and Michael were captured for their conceit."

"Lust?" Sam repeated slowly, slightly disbelieving. "Cas has never seemed all that lustful to me."

"I doubt Cas even knows what lust actually is," Dean added contemptuously with a pointed look at Eloa. She tilted her head a small smile flitting on her lips.

"That is purely because you have not seen him embracing his dark. You have only seen him personifying his most prominent virtue – love. When he becomes dark this is subverted. Love _becomes_ lust. It is a simple concept."

"So you're saying that Cas is a ticking time bomb?" Sam summarised swiftly. Eloa nodded in reply. "Is there any way too stop it?"

"Possibly," she said "That is none of your concern right now though. I was merely explaining why trusting Castiel is risky. When the time comes I shall be there to confront his dark." Her eyes flickered to the opposite wall almost sadly but Sam didn't call her up on it, even though the look confused him. Dean didn't notice, too hung up on what Eloa had told them.

"Right," the elder Winchester muttered looking unimpressed. "That's just great."

"You two should rest," Eloa told them, ignoring Dean's hostility and sitting stiffly on one of the two thinly cushioned chairs by the battered motel dresser. Sam nodded slowly with a quick glance at his brother who pursed his lips slightly before inkling his head in agreement, both of them quickly getting ready for and into their respective beds. Eloa didn't move as they did so but Sam noticed that her shoulders became less tense as time went on. A while later, lying in his bed and half asleep, he remembered she had been being chased when she had arrived and they hadn't thought to ask why or by who. It was an unusual slip up for them. He thought about sitting up and asking her now but, in all honesty he was too comfortable and tired. He would have to ask in the morning, he decided with a yawn closing his eyes and drifting into a painless sleep.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Castiel and Gabriel-_

Castiel relaxed back on the black leather sofa with a slight frown, his right hand reaching down to diagonally in front of him and his fingers slipping round the warm metal of Gabriel's collar at the back of his neck. The archangel, who had been silently kneeling by his feet, looked up slightly and tensed at his touch causing Castiel to sigh. He gently rubbed his thumb against the soft skin of Gabriel's neck in a half-hearted attempt to soothe the elder angel's nerves. He knew it wouldn't work. At first he had thought collaring his submissive would help him bend Gabriel to his will but it hadn't made much difference. The silver band fit around his captive's throat was simply decorative in its value; having more of an effect on his soldiers than its intended target. Few would look at Gabriel without his permission upon seeing his claim.

That was not to say, however, he had made no progress with the elder angel. Gabriel usually obeyed him and, with some resistance, gave in when Castiel wanted sexual pleasure (not that the dominant one gave his submissive much choice, tying him down on his bed and touching him how he pleased.) Yet the devotion Castiel wanted, the desire and love he craved from his brother, had not yet manifested as he had hoped it would.

"Get up," the younger angel growled. Silently Gabriel stood up and Castiel let go of his collar, patting the seat beside him. The ex-trickster glared at him but sat down where bid immediately, looking wary. Castiel tugged his arm a second later, forcing him to lie down with his head in Castiel's lap, looking up at his captor. The dark haired seraph smiled at him, gently twisting some of the ochre locks round his fingers. "Relax Gabriel; you know I'm not going to hurt you." The archangel shook a little at his words, closing his eyes tightly.

"For now," he murmured in reply, hesitating for a moment. Castiel bit back an angry retort at his tone, forcing himself to remain calm. Gabriel always seemed to get to him like that; break down his emotional control to the extremes. Perhaps it was the undeniable lust Castiel felt for him, or maybe it was the mate bond. Castiel didn't particularly care but it was annoying, whichever one it was.

"Your obedience is all I ask for Gabriel. It is not much," he said evenly, continuing to play around with the archangel's hair.

"It's not just obedience you want though Cas. You want so much more than that," Gabriel argued softly, opening his eyes. "You want my love but you know I can't give you it. You know I love-"

"Do not name _him_. Do not even mention anything about _him_ to _me_ ," Castiel snapped. Gabriel winced at his jealous fury, pressing his lips together and falling silent. The dominant angel went to speak again, taking a deep breath to calm himself, but before he could he was interrupted by the arrival of one of his angelic generals. He frowned slightly, addressing the new arrival instead. "You have returned earlier than I expected Arkill." The seraph nodded, looking a bit downtrodden. "Is it done?" Gabriel turned his head to look at the general and couldn't help but notice the blood covering his clothes. A spike of fear stabbed into his stomach at the sight and he wondered if this angel had been sent to assassinate Eloa. He had heard many things over the past few days; having rarely being allowed to leave Castiel's side he had heard most of the reports given by all of the guardian's officials. From them he had gathered that Eloa had started up her own army, one that did not want the apocalypse but did not want Castiel in power either, and it had joined the war denting both Castiel's and Raphael's numbers. It was clear that to him that both the original leaders were in fury over this and, from the reports on Raphael, Castiel had the advantage because he knew who the leader of this new military was, courtesy of Gabriel. Desperate, the archangel listened intently to their conversation praying to his Father that nothing damaging had happened.

"Our target escaped sir," Arkill told Castiel fretfully and Gabriel smiled slightly, the tension in his stomach subsiding. "We separated her from her generals as you suggested and when they scattered we gave chase to her. We managed to wound her with arrows and she crash-landed into a building."

"Yet you did not follow her in?" Castiel asked, looking livid. Arkill bit his lip.

"We could not. She placed up a defence," he explained.

"A banishing sigil?"

"Yes, she placed it up immediately as a warning and has been refreshed it continuously so we could not enter while marking the rest with warding charms," Arkill confirmed.

"I see," Castiel replied thoughtfully. "Were there any humans residing in the room she landed in?"

"We believe there were two," the general said. Gabriel's head snapped up at that and Castiel let out a soft growl of warning, hand fisting slightly in the archangel's hair. He relaxed back down grudgingly but his hope didn't fade. Had Eloa found the Winchesters? He prayed to God that she had.

"You _believe_? You don't know?" the young leader asked Arkill dangerously, releasing his hold on Gabriel's curls.

"Our senses were dimmed. We couldn't focus on the room's inhabitants," the soldier stated. That confirmed it; Gabriel thought as Castiel tensed, she had found the brothers.

"Thank you Arkill. Keep an eye on the area please," Castiel ordered. Arkill gave a slight bow and left in a flurry of wings, taking flight without another word.

"So Eloa is with the Winchesters?" Gabriel asked.

"Perhaps," the dominant angel replied, going back to running his hands through Gabriel's hair. The ex-trickster rolled his eyes but didn't comment, knowing better than to push his point. "Why would she be searching for them though?" Castiel mused. Silence fell between them for a few moments before Gabriel realised he was supposed to answer the question.

"She might now be. Maybe it's just a coincidence," he said slowly "I mean supernatural creatures do tend to show up in the lives of hunters a great deal."

"Hmmmm, I think that it is more than that."

"What do you think it is then?" Gabriel questioned his tone slightly exasperated in an attempt to convince the other man he was wrong.

"I think…she is going to try and gain their trust and then reveal my plans to turn them against me. It is a well known fact they are under my protection and on my side, as well as that they are useful allies. She is trying to take out my resources," Castiel replied, seeming to contemplate his words even as they left his vessel's mouth.

"Two hunters isn't much against a whole army, even if they are the vessels of Michael and Lucifer," Gabriel told him, matching his tone.

"They were a large part of stopping apocalypse," Castiel reminded him softly "They have quite a bit of value to all the angelic factions. Raphael wants them in order to continue the apocalypse, Eloa in order to undermine me and me because they are my friends and I want them to be safe."

"In the long run though, they only have true value to Raphael. If Eloa truly planned to harm you through them wouldn't she have killed them already?" Gabriel suggested. Castiel stared at him for a long moment, blue eyes meeting gold, and then a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and his eyes became soft.

"Gabriel…" he murmured and realisation dawned on the archangel. They had been talking calmly - like equals, like brothers, like a dominant and his submissive at ease with their bond. It contrasted with all that he had been portraying to Castiel for the past six days and, trying to be inconspicuous in gaining information he had fooled Castiel into believing…into believing what? He wasn't sure if he was honest. Castiel could merely believe he had made some form of progress or he could think that Gabriel had broken already in the short space of time he had been captured for. He had no way of knowing. The younger angel broke him out of his thoughts with a soft hand cupping his cheek, the thumb rubbing gently over it in a caress. Gabriel's eyes widened, recognizing the hopeful look in Castiel's blues. He wanted Gabriel to have given in and he was clinging to that hope just because of one conversation of seeming acceptance. The ex-trickster's lips parted in surprise but he gave no other sign of his astonishment. He had one of two choices now, he thought his mind racing, he could push Castiel away by making a sharp comment that would no doubt earn punishment or…he could fake it. He could pretend to be broken, pretend to love his brother. Gabriel knew he could act and, although it would be difficult to keep it up, Castiel was going to be easily convinced if he feigned submission now. He quickly made a decision and took a deep breath, making his eyes soften and a nervous expression cross his face.

"Yeah?" he breathed quietly, leaning into Castiel's touch slightly as if in anticipation.

"Are you feeling okay?" the younger angel asked gently, the hand not on Gabriel's cheek carefully pulling him up so they were face to face, the perfect position for Gabriel's next move.

"Yeah, Cas I just…" the archangel trailed off, pointedly letting his eyes flicker to Castiel's lips before settling back on his eyes. The dark haired seraph's mouth curved upwards slightly more and Gabriel took it as his cue, leaning that little bit further forward to brush his lips against Castiel's. The effect was instant, Castiel pulled him closer with a firm arm and kissed him fully, dominating his mouth with a natural confidence and only breaking away when their vessel's were breathless. Gabriel buried his head in Castiel's right shoulder with a soft gasp, pressing his lips to the dominant one's neck and forcing back a smug smile before whispering the words he knew would convince the younger angel just that little bit more.

"Take me to bed Castiel."


	4. Angels

_**The next morning…** _

_-Dean-_

When Dean woke up the first thing he did was look for the crazy angel from the night before and yes, she was crazy. The mere thought that Cas was going dark side was freaking ridiculous. The angel was his friend and Dean knew his friends well. Castiel cared way too much about humans and God to do anything evil. This 'Eloa' woman was obviously high or something. That didn't matter now though. Her presence did which, Dean realised was currently a problem.

She wasn't there.

He sprang out of bed immediately, making sure he hadn't missed anywhere. When he knew she definitely wasn't in the motel room he went to wake Sam. His brother wasn't in his bed either and Dean felt panic knot in his stomach. A second later, the soft sound of the shower being shut off in the bathroom quenched his alarm and Sam stepped out of the ensuite, a towel around his waist and his hair wet.

"Where the fuck is she?" Dean asked, relief not quelling the sharpness in his tone in the slightest. Sam blinked at him, a confused expression on his face.

"Who?"

"The angel you let stay the night Sam!" he half yelled, gesturing angrily to the empty chair Eloa had been sitting in the night before. Sam frowned and followed his arm movement, eye widening.

"She was there when I went into the bathroom;" he replied "She can't have been gone long. Only ten minutes or so tops." Dean rolled his eyes.

"She's a fucking angel Sammy! She could have done or been anywhere in that amount of time," he said, clenching his fists. "We should have called Cas as soon as she got here damnit!"

"Dean…calm down. You're over reacting. Maybe she just went to get some air."

"She doesn't need to go get air! She-"

"Is there a problem?" A cool voice interrupted them from by the window. Both brothers turned to look at the source and when they realised who it was Dean fixed them with a glare.

"Eloa," Sam said, looking relieved. "We thought you had gone."

"No, I merely had some business to attend to with some of my comrades. I did not mean to cause alarm," she replied evenly "I will not be staying with anymore though as I do not wish to burden you with any possible danger that follows me so thank you for your hospitality but I will be taking my leave now." Dean's glare softened into a look of surprise.

"You're leaving?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes, surely you did not think I would be accompanying you," Eloa confirmed "I am not your guardian and I do not wish to intrude. Besides, I believe you made your alliances clear last night when I arrived. You are Castiel's boys and Castiel currently does not like me very much and the feeling is mutual. Therefore, it would be wise for me to stay away from his territory."

"Territory?" Sam repeated, raising his eyebrows. Dean looked a little affronted at the suggestion, folding his arms across his chest as she spoke. Eloa nodded.

"Angels have their charges and you are his. At the very least Dean is anyway."

"Right…" the younger Winchester said slowly and Dean relaxed his arms again, knowing that it was a true statement.

"So where are you going?" the elder brother asked, suddenly seeming a lot more accepting now he knew she was leaving. Sam shot him a pointed look, wondering if he was fishing for information to tell Cas.

"I don't know," she replied with a small shrug before glancing out the window. "I need to go now…however…can I ask one more favour of you?" Sam frowned and Dean stared at her for a moment.

"Depends on what it is," he told her bluntly after studying her.

"Do not leave the motel today. Wait until the cover of darkness. I do not know which of my enemies was chasing me but if it is from the ranks of hell's angels they will have no qualms killing you without warning if they knew I was here. You would not even see it coming if they decided to attack," she told them "I do not want your blood on my hands." Silence fell between them for a minute before Dean nodded.

"Fair enough," he agreed "There's a restaurant and shop here anyway."

"Thank you."

"No-" Sam began but cut himself off when she disappeared from in front of them. "Oh…"

"I still think we should call Cas," Dean said immediately. "No matter what she says something ain't right about this situation. Hell's angels and a neutral side to the civil war? Seems dodgy to me."

"Most wars have a neutral side Dean," Sam countered "Besides, like I said before, Cas has more important things to worry about than a random angel."

"What if she's one of his enemies?" Dean argued "She did say she wasn't in his good books. She could have just been under exaggerating. Hell, she could be Raphael's minion for all we know."

"That's just it! We don't know!" Sam replied, frustrated. "What if she is who she says she is and Cas is locking the neutrals up? She said he had a dark side."

"And you trust her over Cas? Come on Sam, you're not very good at decisions like this. We both know that. I mean, Ruby? Remember that little fuck up?" Dean snapped, shaking his head at his brother. "Let's face it dude, you don't have good judgement."

"You know what? Fuck you, fuck you very much! You wanna go down that road? Really? 'Cause we can play the blame game Dean but that isn't gonna do anything other than piss us both off. You think your judgement is so great? Maybe you should stop looking to the bottle to solve your problems before you say it!" At that Dean deflated, shoulders slumping slightly.

"You're right but I still think we should ask Cas," Dean replied hesitantly "Just so we know who we've just let slip through our fingers." Sam sighed and took Dean's acceptance as an apology before shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter. From what she was saying I'm guessing we won't be seeing her again anytime soon."

"And that makes it all okay?" Dean asked incredulously.

"No, but it means it isn't enough priority to call Cas about. Just go have a shower and I'll grab us some food before starting some research into the information we've already got. There's a hunt in the area remember? That's why we're here."

"Fine," the other hunter agreed, looking a little put out. "See you in five."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Two hours later…** _

The warehouse was dark and dingy and Dean could hardly see the gun in his hand, let alone the shifter he was supposed to be hunting. Slowly he rounded the corner, gun cocked and hands gripped tight around it, trying not to make any noise. The shifter was somewhere close by - he was sure of it. He didn't know where the hell Sam was though and that was proving to be a distraction. They'd been separated and Dean was panicking slightly. His brother was vulnerable at the moment, what with his soul being returned and the tenuous wall in his mind, and Dean didn't like the thought of Sam captured or hurt by some crazed, bloodthirsty monster at the best of times. Seeing it was clear he edged along the wall, listening intently for footsteps of any kind. He didn't hear any which was a mixture of both comforting and worrying. Where the hell was Sam? A noise behind him caused him to whip round, almost bumping into Sam when the younger Winchester came round the corner.

"Sammy!" he whispered in a hiss. "Where the hell have you been?" Sam bit his lip slightly.

"Took the wrong turning," he muttered quietly, his own gun held tightly in his hand. "Any sign of the shifter?" Dean shook his head quickly.

"Motherfucker's not making any noise or anything. I don't know where the hell it is," he half growled, slowly starting to move forwards again. He glanced around intently, looking for any sign of the aforementioned beast. A shuffling sound came from across the room and Dean was aiming at the source in seconds, a familiar shape coming out of the gloom. It was Sam, or at least it looked like Sam, which meant… Dean jumped away from the figure next to him. "Shit."

"Oh that's just great…" the new arrival said, eyes wide as he stared at his doppelganger. He also had a gun in his hand but didn't move to point it at either Dean or the man next to him, seemingly in shock.

"Dean…" the first Sam added urgently. "We should-"

"Like hell I'm listening to you!" Dean cut in, eyes flitting from the two images of his brother nervously. He started to back away from them swiftly, not knowing what to do. How could he kill the shifter when it looked like his brother? He couldn't be certain which one was which and the risk of killing his brother was too great.

"Dean please…" the newer Sam pleaded, holding up his hands and taking a few steps forward to match his supposed brother's distance. The eldest Winchester shook his head, continuing to back away.

"Sammy…"

"He's playing you!" the other version declared "We need to finish him. He's killed people, he'll kill you! He needs to be stopped!" They were both walking forward now, not allowing any extra distance between them and the elder. Dean groaned.

"Sam, don't make me do this."

"I'm not making you do anything," both the Sam's told him at the same time, frustrated tone matched perfectly with each other. They both glared at their doppelganger then, eyes flashing in anger. Dean raised his gun shakily.

"You've gotta let me go Sam. I can work this out. You know I can. You just need to let me-" He didn't get to finish his plea when the Sam nearest to him let out a wail, a bright white light surrounding him as he disintegrated to ash. Dean's eyes widened and as the body fell apart to reveal the killer. Eloa stared at him for a moment as he took in her appearance before her head snapped over to the other Sam.

"You little bitch!" the second Sam shouted, hand clenching around his gun. "He was _my_ kill!"

"I am afraid not," she stated calmly. Sam snarled at her then raised his gun, shooting the angel in the chest multiple times. She barely flinched, walking forward through the onslaught as if she wasn't being shot at all. Sam's bullets ran out eventually and he started to back up. Eloa continued to advance, not looking bothered by the expression of horror on the younger Winchester's face. Dean was about to step forward in his brother's defence when the other man spoke, voice fearful.

"Who are you?" he asked, revealing that he wasn't Sam. Dean looked to the pile of ash next to him in despair. She'd killed his brother? No, she couldn't have!

"My name is Eloa," the angle stated before placing two fingers on the terrified doppelganger's head. In seconds he was just another pile of ash. She turned to Dean quickly. "We must leave." Dean didn't even look at her. Anger and loss filling him as he stared at what used to be his brother.

"Y-you fucking killed him!" he yelled, dropping his gun and to his knees beside the ashes. "You-"

"I saved both your lives," Eloa interrupted "Sam is in your motor vehicle, injured. There were two Shapeshifters in this area."

"What?" Dean asked, looking up at her in shock.

"I knew you would not stay inside despite my request and followed you. Your brother was captured and I was in your debt. To repay you for your kindness I chose to save you both. Am I right in thinking you believed Samuel was one of the two in this room?" Her voice was cool and a little confused, as if she didn't understand why he hadn't already realised what she was telling him. "I would not kill your brother." Dean let out a huff of breath in surprise and she smiled slightly. "Come, I will heal him when we return to your car." Nodding the elder Winchester stood up, collecting his gun from the floor as he did so. Eloa began to lead him out of the warehouse without another word and Dean followed in similar silence. Just before they got to the impala he spoke, voice slightly shaky.

"Thank you." Eloa frowned at him.

"It is custom to repay debts. You need not thank me." Dean let out a small chuckle at her formality.

"It's also traditional to be grateful," he replied. She looked at him for a moment, transferring her gaze when they reached Dean's baby. The elder Winchester's eyes widened at the sight of his brother sprawled across the back seat, a cut just over his eye and his arm clutched to his chest as if broken. His eyes opened slowly at Dean's intake of breath.

"You found him then?"

"It is what you asked. I was almost too late," the angel said placing two fingers to the tall male's forehead. He healed at her touch and he sat up.

"Thanks Eloa," Sam replied, looking at his brother as he climbed out of the back to stand in front of him. Without thinking Dean grabbed him, pulling him into a hug.

"I thought you were dead," he muttered into Sam's shoulder before breaking away. Sam looked a little surprised and glanced at the angel stood by them.

"Not quite. Thanks to Eloa."

"Yeah…" Dean agreed, also looking at the seraph. "We owe you one."

"You owe me no debt," Eloa countered "I was-"

"We owe you," Dean repeated, cutting across her. "You didn't have to hang around, keeping an eye out for us but you did."

"Castiel-" Eloa began.

"Screw Cas," Dean argued, suddenly resolved. He didn't know the angel but he had a feeling that her appearance was more than just to repay them for a debt. Sam he could understand but he had been nothing but rude to her. She could have just saved his brother but she chose to save him as well. "Why are you so hung up on him anyway?"

"I am because I must be," Eloa told them, looking apprehensive now. Dean shrugged.

"Fine, don't tell us, but if Cas _is_ hunting you then I don't care. You helped us, that means you're not trying to destroy the world or us. That pretty much makes you an ally nowadays anyway."

"Why are you saying such things? Surely you do not trust me."

"You saved our lives Eloa," Sam added quietly "That has to mean something."

"It was not meant-"

"What are you arguing this?" Dean asked "You escaped into our motel room and spent the night there trusting us not to try and kill you when you were wounded. What's so different about sticking around?"

"Doing so places you in danger," Eloa replied.

"We're hunters. We're always in danger," Sam answered. Dean nodded.

"Besides, last night you said you wanted allies with skill. We kinda fit the bill."

"I am thankful for your offer but you are Castiel's territory, not mine and I will not venture into your lives anymore than I already have," she said, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Castiel's territory?" Dean repeated "What the hell does that even mean?"

"The handprint you bear upon your shoulder and his presence in both your lives is testament to his possession."

"We're not his toys," the elder Winchester growled.

"However, you are his,"

"He doesn't own us Eloa," Sam told her as Dean puffed up in anger. "We're his friends. Not his possessions."

"Is that so different?" she asked, looking confused.

"It's very different!" Dean exclaimed "I know angels don't understand shit like friendship and love and that but really? How can you think that friendship is the same as ownership?"

"Gabriel staked claim to me when we were friends," Eloa replied simply.

"Gabriel stak- what the hell?"

"As did Lucifer when he dragged me down to hell," she continued, unfazed by the elder Winchester's reaction. Sam flinched slightly at the mention of Lucifer and hell.

"He did what?" the brunette questioned quietly, Dean fell silent at his brother's expression looking nervous.

"You are aware of Christian mythology are you not?" Eloa asked. Sam nodded slowly. "Have you heard of the poem 'Éloa, ou La sœur des anges' by Alfred de Vigny?"

"No, I'm guessing it's about you?"

"Yes…perhaps you should look it up and, if you still want my friendship then, pray for me and I will consider your offer. If only so I may help you in your future hunting." The brother's shared a confused look before looking back to where she had been to only find empty space.

"Let's look at that poem."


	5. Bring Me To Life

_**An hour later…** _

_-Dean-_

Dean stared at the book in front of him in annoyance. He had finally found the poem 'Éloa, ou La sœur des anges' with the help of two librarians and the internet but…it was in French. How the hell was he supposed to be able to read French? He hadn't even attempted it in high school, let alone as an adult. Sam came over, a huge book of poetry in his hands, and sat next to him with a sigh.

"Any luck?" he asked. Dean nodded slightly and pushed his book over to him.

"Yeah, but it's in French which isn't really helpful. Means we're gonna have to use a translator and type all of it up," he replied. Sam put his own book down to look at Dean's with an eye roll.

"Of course it's in French Dean."

"Huh? How'd you know it was gonna be in French?" Dean said irritated by his brother's tone. Sam shook his head a little.

"It's called 'Éloa, ou La sœur des anges' which is French for Eloa, or the sister of angels," he explained, looking amused. Dean scoffed slightly.

"Right I forgot you were Einstein," the elder Winchester replied "Okay then hotshot, think you can explain the rest of it?" Sam scanned over the poem quickly, studying the words with a slight frown.

"The first verse is about Jesus crying…not sure what that's about," Sam muttered, half to himself and half to his brother. "The second bit roughly translates into, give or take… An angel can fall; the best of us all. His name was the one who carries the light."

"Lucifer?" Dean asked carefully.

"Yeah, Lucifer the Morning Star," Sam confirmed, continuing his appraisal looking uncomfortable. "The next bit starts talking about Eloa. She met Lucifer when he had fallen…"

"I thought Lucifer was put straight in the cage," Dean said, frowning.

"Apparently not," Sam replied, tracing his finger across the page "It pretty much turns into a conversation after that… 'Chaste beauty, you come to fight me or absolve me?' Dude, I think he was flirting with her." Dean let out a small snort of amusement.

"Lucifer, putting on the moves?"

"Sounds like it worked actually. She tried to save him, asked God to spare him. Man, she didn't even know who he was."

"I'm guessing God didn't let him go," Dean said, sounding uncertain. Sam shook his head and glanced at his brother before turning back to the poem.

"No…he damned him to the cage but…before he got there he managed to find Eloa again from the sound of it. The poem reads like one conversation but I think it's snippets from different ones. The last stanza though…he leads her into hell."

"How?" Dean asked incredulously leaning over to look over his brother's shoulder as if he could read the French on the page.

"She still didn't know who he was. Listen to this, it's the best I can do so…  
Where are you taking me, beautiful angel?  
Come along.  
Your voice is sad, and what dark speeches! Is it not Eloa raising you from your chain? I thought you had been saved.  
No it is I who leads.  
If we are united, I do not care in what place! Called me again or your sister or your God!  
I take my slave and I want my victim.  
You seemed so good! Oh what have I done?  
A crime.  
Will you be happier, at least, are you satisfied?  
Sadder than ever.  
Who are you?  
Satan."

"Holy…she was damned for asking for his forgiveness?"

"No, she was damned because he refused to be alone," Sam disagreed, slowly closing the book and pushing away from him.

"How's she out now then?" Dean said, looking slightly spooked.

"My guess? She got out when Lucifer did and went into hiding. I suppose that she doesn't like him too much considering she was damned for trying to change him," Sam answered running a hand through his hair. "Which makes sense."

"So why did she think we wouldn't trust her? I mean, yeah she's connected to Lucifer but she sounds more like a victim than…"

"She was helping the devil," Sam interrupted "It all amounts to the same thing. No one knows what went down in the cage between them."

"Think that's why Cas is hunting her?"

"Maybe. If it's even Cas that is hunting her. She said demons were after her and hell's angels when she crashed into our room."

"I think I trust her," Dean decided. Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Since when do you trust when all the odds point against someone?" Dean rolled his eyes and smirked slightly.

"The odds were against us with the apocalypse, and way back when with Azazel. We always pull through and we've never actually become monsters. Hell, some people would say we've done immoral things and we both know we've done stupid stuff but we're not actually evil. Maybe Eloa's the same." Sam smiled at that and nudged his brother's shoulder with his elbow.

"You know, I think that was the nicest thing you've ever said about an angel that wasn't Cas," he teased. Dean glared at him.

"Shut up bitch." Sam laughed.

"Jerk."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Gabriel-_

Gabriel had to admit that pretending to be broken was the best thing he could have done. Although he still had to wear the ridiculous silver collar and had to act submissive to Castiel all the time the other angel hadn't hurt him again since he'd 'accepted his place'. He couldn't help being a little frustrated with Castiel's possessive nature though. No one had been able to look at him without permission before and that had been fine with Gabriel but now, when he craved the interaction with others, Castiel didn't allow anyone to even glance at the archangel. Gabriel wasn't allowed out of his sight either; generally made to sit next to him or kneel beside him at all times. They were in constant physical contact as well, whether it was just Castiel's hand in his hair or Gabriel practically sitting in the dominant angel's lap. Currently it was both. They were sat in the room that Castiel had first taken Gabriel to upon his capture and on the same sofa, with the archangel straddling the younger man's waist as requested. Castiel's right hand was gripped in his hair while the left was on his submissive's hip to hold him in place. He was nipping small marks on to Gabriel's neck at that point and, knowing it was what he was most likely expected to do Gabriel tilted his head back to give Castiel better access with a small moan. He was rewarded with a smirk against his neck, just above the warm metal of his collar.

"Is someone feeling needy?" Castiel murmured, teeth bushing against the delicate skin. "You are very responsive today." Gabriel didn't even have to think about his answer. He knew how Castiel wanted him to respond.

"I'm anything you want me to be," he breathed, slipping his hand over the angel's shoulders and clutching the back of the tan trench coat. He was privately disgusted with his own behaviour. He was acting like a slut and, despite popular belief, he wasn't one. Castiel chuckled quietly, luckily not catching on the Gabriel's trail of thought and kissed his neck softly before turning the archangel and flipping him onto his back on the empty sofa space with Castiel leaning over him.

"Indeed you are Gabriel," the seraph whispered, stroking one hand across the other man's cheek in an affectionate gesture. "Mine forever, remember?"

"Forever," Gabriel agreed quietly, trying not to let his distaste show in his expression. Castiel smiled and captured the helpless archangel's lips into a soft kiss. Gabriel responded automatically, pulling the dominant one closer and kissing back with as much fake devotion as he could muster. After a moment Castiel slowly ran his tongue over his submissive's bottom lip before nipping it gently so Gabriel would grant him access to his mouth. Obediently Gabriel parted his lips and Castiel didn't hesitate, caressing the elder's tongue with his own. Gabriel let out a soft groan, reluctantly trying to urge Castiel on. Unfortunately for him (or perhaps fortunately, Gabriel couldn't really decide; the alternative was pain and rape and at least he got a half voluntary orgasm out of convincing Castiel he was in love with him rather than an I-control-you one.) Castiel believed his performance, one hand sliding down to the back of Gabriel's trousers and pushing his hips forward to press their groins together. Gabriel let his head fall back against the couch then, forcing out a moan that made him sound like a whore. Castiel laughed quietly, the sound smug and predatory.

"You like that?"

"General Castiel?" a voice asked from the doorway, interrupting what would have been a highly self-conscious reply disguised as a turned on one. Immediately Castiel slid back to his original seat, pulling Gabriel up to sit beside him. A small snarl came from his lips in annoyance of being interrupted but Gabriel was simply relieved; although he always felt pleasure from having sex with Castiel he didn't particularly want it, rather it was an necessary evil to convince the other angel he was broken.

"What is it?" Castiel growled. The speaker walked into the room tentatively, having only been in the doorway before. Gabriel rolled his eyes a little wondering why Arkill, the new arrival, always seemed to piss Castiel off somehow.

"The new vessel, the one you requested we find. We have it," Arkill replied, pointedly looking away from Gabriel. Castiel relaxed, pulling the archangel closer to him with ease.

"Who did you manage to convince in the end?" he asked with a smile, hand slipping round the silver of Gabriel's collar when he started to fidget, his movements stilled immediately as the fingers around it tightened the collar around his throat.

"Tyler Drown," the general answered. Castiel nodded slowly.

"The Logan Lerman lookalike. Excellent. Keep him detained, well fed and well convinced. What story did you feed him?"

"I pretended to be his doctor and informed him he needed an emergency blood transfusion. He merely needs to answer yes to a question and he will be possessed."

"By who?" Gabriel asked, sitting up and his eyes widening. Vessels and blood transfusions? What the hell was Castiel playing at? He flinched slightly when Castiel let go of his collar, expecting a hit. It didn't come. Instead Castiel gave him an indulgent smile.

"Before you accepted your place with me you once threatened me with our sister, Eloa. Do you remember?" he murmured, stroking Gabriel's hair gently. The archangel shivered and nodded. "You also said few people could kill her. So I thought about it and realized that it was extremely important to destroy her, her army is proof of that. My problem was how to do it but then I remembered. Lucifer defeated her once, and he taught her all her tricks, so he could do it again." Gabriel gasped, jerking away, but Castiel's hand clenched in his hair suddenly, forcing him to stay in his position. "However, then I had a problem with vessels. There was no other vessel Lucifer could use other than Sam, who would never say yes again so I had to improvise. Siphoning off Sam's blood every night for the past few weeks until I had enough to safely transfer into someone else, as the vessel line is held within blood, and finding the perfect vessel for Lucifer to accept. I even have a deal he can't refuse; he can kill Eloa himself, return to heaven as he pleases and, most significantly, have Michael exactly how I have you."

"Lucifer doesn't want Michael like that," Gabriel muttered, Castiel smirked pulling the archangel's head back to expose his throat.

"He does, Sam confessed it once. He told me how it sickened him he could hear how Lucifer wanted his brother like that. The thoughts that Lucifer had upon seeing Michael again. He'll agree Gabriel, and Michael will be happy. Just like you." Gabriel let out a soft sob. _No_ , he thought desperately, _not Michael too,_ because Michael would not act and pretend. His eldest brother would fight continuously and Lucifer would eventually break him. Either that or he would fight until the bond forced him to submit and love Lucifer forever whichever came first. Yet there was nothing Gabriel could do. He was helpless, and Castiel could do anything he wanted.

"You are happy, aren't you Gabriel?" the younger angel asked suddenly, his voice more of a murmur against his captive's throat. The archangel repressed a shudder, realizing that his actions were making Castiel suspicious.

"I-I just think Michael will fight," he replied, voice shaking slightly. He wasn't lying and hopefully Castiel would sense that and ignore the fact he had avoided actually answering the question. "I don't think he'll want to bond with Lucifer. He's never shown any inclination of feeling that way."

"Hmmmm. Perhaps you have a point," Castiel replied, removing his hand from Gabriel's hair and pulling him back into his chest. "However, you didn't want to bond with me and now you seem to be fine. You accepted it and look how well you are now. You love me. It is clear in everything you do." Holding back a sigh of relief that he had quelled Castiel's suspicions Gabriel took his cue and relaxed into his hold as the other seraph's arms encircled him.

"Yes. I do," he agreed, the lie feeling like ash in his mouth when Castiel kissed his temple. A small cough came from in front of them and Gabriel glanced up in surprise. He had forgotten Arkill was there.

"Should I make preparations for Michael as well?" the general asked, looking uncomfortable. Castiel gave him a small nod.

"You will not have to acquire a vessel for him. He will continue using the boy. You will need to set up wards to trap him in instead while I bargain with Lucifer. Get Balthazar to help you, of course."

"I will do that now," Arkill said, leaving with a small bow. Castiel smiled while, internally, Gabriel despaired.

"Everything is coming together nicely."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Back with Sam and Dean…** _

"So how are we gonna do this?" Dean asked. They had left the library now and were sat in a small café, both nursing cups of coffee and Dean waiting on a slice of cherry pie, sitting opposite sides of the table. Sam shrugged.

"Not sure. I guess we could try and pray for her?" he suggested. Dean nodded slowly, taking a sip of his coffee thoughtfully.

"Which one of us?"

"Probably you," Sam replied "You were the one who didn't trust her before. It might be better if you do it so she realises we're serious."

"Right…let's do this then," Dean said, setting his mug down and bringing his hands together. "Erm…Dear Eloa, angel of…the lord, I guess, we pray that you hear us out 'cause we found that poem. You know that dodgy French one you told us about? Erm…and we kinda understand. I mean, we've all made mistakes and we'd really appreciate it if you could…well…come and have a chat?" He looked around hopefully but there was no tell tale sign of the angel. Sam sighed.

"Well that was a-"

"I am surprised that you called," a familiar voice interrupted, both Winchester's jumped and Dean stared at the source of the noise who was now sat in front of him and next to Sam.

"Jeez Eloa, a little warning would be nice," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"I thought you would be expecting me. You did call me," she stated.

"Yeah but…you can't just appear like that. It's…creepy."

"I will bear that in mind," she replied with a slight frown. There was a slight pause in the conversation, only prevented from becoming awkward by the arrival of Dean's pie order. The waitress' eyes flickered to Eloa as she flirted with the brothers simultaneously, asking if they needed anything before grudgingly asking her.

"A lack of hostility would be preferable as would some privacy," the angel told her simply. Sam, who had been about to take a sip of fresh coffee, snorted in amusement while the waitress looked rather shocked and backed off quickly. Dean smirked slightly.

"Moving on," he said, scooping up a bit of pie on his fork. Eloa looked at him immediately, brown eyes meeting green." So you were Lucifer's girlfriend before he dragged you into hell?"

"Girlfriend is probably not the right word," Eloa replied "We were not bonded or speaking of any kind of bond. I believe that Lucifer merely had a fancy for me and truly loved another."

"Bonded?" Sam asked.

"For a true romantic relationship an angel must be bonded to the one they love," Eloa explained. "Lucifer and I never made a bond, although we had strong feelings for one another. I was predominantly his sister although we…did some less…family orientated activities."

"You were fuck buddies?" Dean summarised, eyes widening in disbelief. Sam shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable at the turn in the conversation.

"Yes," Eloa replied "You could describe our relationship as such. It was certainly more one of friendship and pleasure than anything else."

"Well…" Dean said looking a little embarrassed. Eloa raised her eyebrows and he quickly moved on to his next question, shoving some pie into his mouth as a distraction. "You asked God to spare him?"

"Must we go through every part of the poem?" Eloa asked "The answer will be yes to all your questions. The story is quite accurate in it. Although it mentions little of Michael."

"You were with Michael too?" Dean practically yelped. Eloa blinked at him.

"No…but Michael was the one who damned Lucifer to the cage, who in turn dragged me down alongside him."

"So in the cage…" Sam prompted.

"While he was weakened I pillaged his mind and learnt all of his secrets and tricks. I even managed to gain some of his abilities. I also was able to steal his blade, which was helpful in fighting him off when he realised I had taken advantage. We became bitter enemies in perdition and I have no doubt he would love to kill me given the chance."

"You have Lucifer's blade?" Dean asked, looking uncertain whether he had heard correctly. Eloa nodded quickly.

"Was that not clear?"

"It was. I'm just kinda surprised," Dean replied "So what's up between you and Cas? You said that you didn't want the apocalypse so, what's making you so against him? You know God's on his side right?" Eloa sighed and sat back in her seat slightly.

"Father was on his side before but I am not so sure about now. I told you before about the darkness angel's face and I feel that it will manifest and cause Castiel's actions to become less than savoury," the angel told them carefully.

"I'm sure Cas won't-" Sam began.

"How are you sure? You do not know him as well as many of the Host. He has been rejected repeatedly by the heavenly virtue he most symbolises. He may embrace his sin more than you anticipate," Eloa interrupted calmly.

"Come off it," Dean said, looking exasperated. "Cas as a lust angel? I took him to a brothel once and, trust me; he didn't fare too well there. I doubt Cas even understands how sex can make someone feel good." Eloa raised her eyebrows.

"We are ancient beings Dean. I know things that would make even you blush."

"Yeah, but you've fucked Lucifer," Dean argued.

"And many others besides. My deadly sin to defeat was also lust. I only escaped it after I had been dragged into hell. Do not presume that angels are innocent. Yes, Castiel is naive, but when his sin becomes apparent there is no doubt he will know exactly what to do," Eloa said quietly.

"If it was his virtue that was flipped…wouldn't anyone he loved become someone he lusted?" Sam cut in before Dean could reply.

"To an extent. It would only be those that he feels emotionally involved with in a way which could become romantic," the angel explained "Or possibly someone he knows he shouldn't love as he does but continues to do so anyway."

"Any ideas who that might be?" Dean added, glancing between the two brunettes. Sam shook his head but Eloa looked down.

"I have some idea," she confessed. "I know the expressions that would suggest such a relationship."

"You do?" Sam said, surprised.

"Yes," the angel told them with a sigh. "Perhaps it is even overly obvious." Sam's eyes widened as realisation hit him and he glanced at Dean before returning his gaze to her.

"You can't be serious."

"I am deadly serious."

"Am I missing something here?" Dean asked, looking offended.

"You Dean. She's saying he loves you."


	6. Dance With The Devil

_ **2 weeks later…** _

_-Gabriel-_

This was it. This was the moment that Gabriel had been dreading ever since he had been told of Castiel's grand plan. The dominant angel was currently leading two of his generals; Arkill and Balthazar to where they were planning to open the cage, keeping Gabriel at his side with one strong arm wrapped around the archangel's waist pressing him to his side.

"Are you certain that all the wards are in place?" Castiel asked as they walked. Arkill nodded.

"You have no worries there Cassie," Balthazar replied with an easy grin "There's no way that Michael or Lucifer can do anything after they've got out of the cage unless you let them." Gabriel stared at him as he spoke, disheartened by his obvious glee. He had liked Balthazar before he had left heaven but his easy-going attitude to working with the devil made Gabriel feel nothing but dislike for him now.

"Excellent," Castiel said with a smirk. "And the rings?"

"Collected," Arkill told him, producing them from his trouser pocket. Castiel took them with the hand not holding Gabriel and put them in his trench coat pocket for safekeeping.

"You have done well," the leader praised.

"We know," Balthazar replied cockily, looking amused. "We didn't want to disappoint you after all." Arkill rolled his eyes at him and nudged him with his elbow in an attempt to shut him up. A small smile flickered on Gabriel's lips at that but quickly disappeared as they stepped into the room that had been prepared so the cage could be opened in it. He bit his lip nervously and Castiel's arm tightened around him. The possessive gesture did nothing to soothe Gabriel's anxiousness. Everything in him was screaming that this was wrong and he had to stop it but there was nothing he could do. Balthazar shut the door behind them and Arkill turned to Castiel.

"If you wish for us to move Michael safely from the wards we will need a weapon effective on him for when we take him," he said, slightly nervous. Castiel nodded and looked at Gabriel pointedly.

"Your blade please Gabriel," he requested. The archangel's eyes widened. If he refused it might have a slight effect on Castiel's plan; a small delay perhaps, but it would also give him away. However, if he gave up his blade it just made it easier for them to trap Michael. Hell even if he didn't give them it Castiel could force him to through their bond. Weighing up his options he mentally sighed. He knew his choice was cowardly be he also knew his defiance would make little or no difference to the final outcome. He lowered his eyes in shame, manifesting his blade and giving it to his dominant. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he mumbled.

"I'll reward you later," Castiel promised, squeezing his side. Gabriel only just managed to stop himself cringing at the thought.

"I look forward to it," he lied as Castiel gave his blade to Arkill.

"Now let's get on with it," Balthazar suggested with a grin.

"Yes," Castiel agreed, sitting down on the sofa that he manifested just in front of the wards with his control over Gabriel's powers and pulling his submissive down next to him. "It is time to release our older brothers." He took the four horsemen rings out and fit them together carefully while Arkill and Balthazar prepared themselves; moving to strategic places around the sigiled area. Gabriel took a deep breath, unconsciously pressing closer to Castiel for some form of comfort. Castiel smiled smugly at the action, kissing his hair before throwing the rings into the centre of the wards. The reaction was instant; the ground around the rings seemed to crumble inwards and a hole appeared in the floor, earning a small gasp from Gabriel. Light immediately filled the room, solidifying into Lucifer's true form just the right of the rings, seconds later Michael appeared on the left hand side, still situated in Adam Winchester as his vessel. Both of them looked around, confused and disorientated.

"What is the meaning of this?" Michael asked after a moment, taking in the sight of the imprisoning sigils and glancing at Lucifer. His eyes fixed on Castiel soon after and Gabriel could see in the way that they widened that his eldest brother had seen the mate bond between them and their roles in it. Castiel ignored Michael, knowing he was powerless, and signalled to Balthazar who quickly moved to the door, opening it before going back to his place. One of Castiel's soldiers came in, pushing a trolley with Tyler in. The boy had his eyes covered and lay limply with exhaustion after his 'surgery'. Lucifer tilted his head slightly to one side working out what was happening in seconds, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Is this what I think it is?" he said, sounding amused.

"I wish to make a deal," Castiel confirmed. "I have an enemy who I cannot defeat and is ruining my plans. I thought perhaps you could help me dispose of her."

"Her?" Michael repeated, once again Castiel paid him no attention.

"I am sure you are familiar with Eloa, Lucifer," he continued. Lucifer's smirk disappeared, his grace burning brighter.

"What of her?" he growled.

"She is the enemy of which I speak," Castiel explained. "My deal is simple; become my loyal second in command and I will give you three things."

"And what three things would that be?" Lucifer asked, sounding interested. Michael went to speak but Castiel spoke over him.

"A new vessel," the younger angel replied with a gesture to Logan. "The chance to kill Eloa yourself and…a mate worthy of your affections." Lucifer snorted.

"And who would such a mate be?" Castiel grinned darkly.

"The one you want," he said, nodding to Arkill. The angelic general stepped, unaffected, into the wards with Gabriel's knife in his hand. Taken by surprise, Michael was easily disarmed and Arkill turned him so his back was pressed against the soldier's front, holding the blade at his chest above his heart, an arm wrapped around his waist to keep the archangel in place. Lucifer watched in fascination as his elder brother was overpowered so easily.

"Castiel, what is this?" Michael demanded, struggling uselessly. The wards were effectively trapping his powers, making his fighting worthless. "Let me go brother!"

"I believe we have a deal," Lucifer replied, smirking as his brother continued to struggle. "First my vessel, second Michael and then…you will explain to me how Gabriel is alive and so clearly yours."

"Of course," Castiel agreed easily, standing up and pulling Gabriel with him. He walked over to Tyler, knowing the human had probably been too exhausted to take in anything they had just said. "Tyler? This is Doctor Novak. Can you hear me?"

"It's not too late to stop this madness Castiel!" Michael said desperately, Arkill pressed the blade against his chest harder, cutting his vessel's shirt. Michael fell silent begrudgingly.

"Hmmmm?"

"My fellow Doctor needs you to answer a few questions," the angel lied, looking over at Lucifer. The fallen angel nodded slightly to show he understood.

"Okay," the human muttered with a yawn.

"Luci-" Michael was once again cut off by the cool metal of Gabriel's blade.

"Just to double check, you have no problems with this? You would like to answer my questions?" Lucifer asked, tone mocking Castiel's coolly.

"Yes I-" That was all it took. Lucifer disappeared instantly and Tyler sat up suddenly an easy grin on his face and no signs of his previous tiredness. "Well that was easy."

"Lucifer?" Gabriel asked quietly, unable to keep his voice from breaking in sadness.

"Yes Gabriel?" the body of Tyler Drown replied with a grin. Gabriel glared at him with that, anger replacing his initial fury.

"Touch my brother and I'll kill you myself."

"Gabriel…" Castiel warned, voice promising pain if he kept up his behaviour. Gabriel clenched his fists tightly and Lucifer laughed.

"Oh do not worry Castiel. Gabriel would never kill me, he is too soft hearted," the fallen assured. "Now, for the rest of our deal."

"Yes, Arkill bring Michael over." The general nodded quickly and, without letting go of the archangel, breaking the wards to bring him over. Gabriel bit his lip anxiously but Castiel slipped a hand through his collar tugging it so that it choked the elder angel to ensure his submission. Gabriel slumped slightly in his hold, knowing resistance was useless.

Suddenly, half way to them and his powers revived through the lack of guards, Michael snapped into action and twisted out of Arkill's grip. Within half a second he had wrestled Gabriel's blade from the other angel and slammed it into the soldier's grace harshly, killing him.

"You will not decide my fate," he declared darkly, yanking the blade out of the body and letting it slump to the floor. Gabriel's eyes widened in hope at the sight, bright with anticipation. Michael was going to get away. He was going to- His hopes were dashed within seconds of manifesting. In his haste to slay Arkill, Michael had turned his back on the true danger and Lucifer had come up behind the eldest angel, chuckling softly. Michael jumped slightly at the sound, whipping around to face the new threat but he was too late. Gabriel turned his head away sadly as Lucifer plunged his hand into Michael's chest to begin his claim.

_-Michael-_

The whole of his vessel tensed as agony ripped through his body in waves. He had been foolish, he realised, and he should never have turned his back on Lucifer. His back arched slightly, helplessly trying to relieve some of the pain to no avail. Lucifer's hand clamped around his grace suddenly and he couldn't help but let out a sob. It was like ice was eating through him from the inside out, burning and freezing him at the same time without mercy.

"Brother please…" he pleaded quietly, the pain breaking through any pride he might have had in a vain attempt to save himself. Lucifer merely laughed.

"I don't think so Michael. I have waited too long to have you at my mercy like this," he murmured in to his ear, tightening the hold on the other archangel's grace. "All those years in the cage I waited and now I'm going to take what I want."

"Lucifer I-" Michael began, choking on his words as the pressure on him increased. He was briefly glad that he had managed to send Adam's soul to heaven whilst in the cage at this point. The boy would have been crushed utterly if he had not.

"Shhh brother," Lucifer crooned his voice soft and soothing. Michael closed his eyes forcefully, everything in him screaming to get his brother away from him even as the hold on his grace prevented it. "Just a little while longer…" Michael shook his head frantically, knowing what Lucifer meant.

"I will never submit," he gasped out. Lucifer didn't reply but Michael could practically feel his brother's smirk as he began to recite the bonding spell.

"Coraxo oiad monasci ol oiad ge-iad olani plapli ol nostoah in io-iad oe olani ol booapis ol gemeganza od noasmi ol hoath."

"Ol g-chis-ge nidali esiasch ol hoath ol in," Michael hissed back even as he felt his grace connect to the darkness of Lucifer's own.

"Oh but I am Michael," the younger replied smugly. "You belong to me now." He slowly removed his hand from Michael's grace and out of his chest and Michael winced, involuntarily stumbling into the fallen angel's open arms. Lucifer held him close and he trembled slightly, hating himself for being so weak. How could Father punish him like this? He had been the obedient son his Father had asked for all of his life. What could he possibly have done to deserve such wrath? Eventually the elder archangel opened his eyes to see Gabriel staring at him sympathetically from in the arms of his own dominant. He frowned at the expression, unsure of how his brother could feel sorry for him when he was so happily bonded. Unless…

"So you have some questions Lucifer?" Castiel said after a moment, breaking the silence that had fallen across the room. Michael fleetingly noticed that one his brothers, Balthazar, was clearing away the body of Arkill's vessel but focused on Castiel quickly after, eyes wide and listening carefully. He knew not to fight when he was weakened but he could at least observe.

"Yes," Lucifer replied, tightening his hold on Michael to the point it was close to painful. Michael shifted uncomfortably but his dominant did not let him go, holding him well. "I see you have bonded with Gabriel but, regrettably, I killed him. How's he here?"

"I prayed. Father gave him back to me," Castiel replied simply. "Didn't he Gabriel?" The youngest archangel nodded submissively but Michael could help but notice a small flicker of emotion in his eyes. He couldn't place what it was but it was certainly there.

"And he wanted to bond with you?" Lucifer asked with a nod. Castiel shook his head with a small smile, somehow looking both sad and smug at the same time.

"It happened much how it did for you I am afraid, but Gabriel has realised his place." As if on cue Gabriel nuzzled Castiel's chest with his head, showing an almost sickly devotion. Michael swallowed hard at the sight. He had no doubts about what Lucifer would want of him with the mate bond upon seeing the control Castiel had over Gabriel; complete obedience, admiration and love. Well, Michael decided, he would have a hard time getting such things. The eldest archangel would fight with everything he had rather than become Lucifer's slave. Lucifer's reply broke Michael out of his thoughts quickly and brought him back to the conversation at hand.

"I see," the fallen replied slowly. "And moving on…the third part of our deal…Eloa?" Castiel nodded, stroking Gabriel's hair as he answered.

"She is the leader of one of the two armies fighting against me," the younger angel explained. "Her aim is to avert the apocalypse like mine but she is furious over my methods and my claiming of Gabriel. She sees me as evil and my bond with Gabriel as little more than emotional and physical rape. In short, she is getting in my way." Lucifer smirked.

"I believe the apocalypse has just been prevented anyway," he said, amusement clear in his tone. "I will not be attempting to kill Michael now he is bonded to me and we all know he will not be able to defeat me when I hold his power." Michael glared at him, challenge in his gaze.

"You are mistaken brother," he growled threateningly. Lucifer chuckled, tightening his grip just a little more to cause even more discomfort to his captive.

"Then why have you not fought your way out of my grasp?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer, even as Michael's shoulders slumped in realisation of his first loss to the devil. "Now Castiel, we need a plan to bring down Eloa."

"Yes," Castiel agreed, leading Lucifer and Michael over to the sofa and pulling Gabriel along with him. A second sofa appeared facing the first as he sat down on the original. Michael watched as, automatically, Gabriel lay with his head on his dominant's lap, and felt a sharp pang of pain in his chest. Lucifer sat down on the new furniture, pulling Michael to sit next to him and holding him closely pressed into his side. Michael struggled uselessly in his grip for a moment but when it failed to have any effect he stilled, listening to Castiel as he continued.

"In fact, Balthazar here has an excellent idea to ruin her. Although it will take time to prepare…"

**A/N: Again the bonding spell means 'Under the name of the Lord I take you as mine forever in time to serve my will and be my love' while Michael's reply (Ol g-chis-ge nidali esiasch ol hoath ol in) means 'You are no brother or love of mine'**


	7. Whisper

_**Eight days later…  
** -Sam-_

Running a hand through his hair, Sam walked stepped out of Bobby's kitchen and into the main sitting room with a groan. Dean was sat at one of the many tables littered around the place, half slumped over a book and not looking impressed. A quick look around told Sam that Bobby wasn't around and he frowned.

"Where's Bobby?" he asked, walking over to his brother.

"In town, supply run," Dean replied, looking up at him with bleary eyes. Sam glanced out the window in disbelief it was pouring rain outside with thunder and lightning everywhere.

"In this?" he said incredulously Dean nodded.

"Yeah, man's a hero. We were officially out of hunter's helper." Dean gestured to an empty liquor bottle on the table next to his book and Sam gave him a small smile. Typical Dean. He opened his mouth to reply when another voice interrupted him, the speaker pushing past him after practically appearing from thin air. Balthazar.

"Hello, boys. You've seen "the Godfather," right?" he greeted, walking around the room with an air of purpose. Sam made a quick appraisal of his appearance uncertainly; one side of his jacket was stained red with blood.

"Balthazar..." Dean began. The angel cut him off quickly as he continued to search for whatever he was looking for.

"You know, the end, where Michael Corleone sends his men to kill his enemies in one big, bloody swoop?" he continued. Sam raised his eyebrows and Balthazar picked up a container of salt from one of Bobby's cupboards, emptying it into an empty bowl carelessly placed on one of Bobby's many desks. "Dead sea brine," he stated "Good, good, good. You know, Moe Greene gets it in the eye, and Don Cuneo gets it in the revolving door?"

"Balthazar…" Dean tried again. The angel rolled his eyes.

"You managed to learn my name. Good for you," he said sarcastically moving over to the fridge in the corner. "Blood of lamb. Blood of lamb." He was throwing things out of it carelessly and Sam could see his brother's rage mounting at the lack of response the angel was giving him. "Beer, cold pizza. Blood of lamb. Yes! Blood of lamb!" Balthazar started to pour the lamb's blood into the bowl alongside everything else and Sam decided to intervene at this, pretty sure Dean was about to explode at any given moment.

"Why are you talking about "the Godfather"?" he asked quickly.

"Because we're in it - right now, tonight. And in the role of Michael Corleone - The archangel Raphael."

"You mind telling us what you mean?" Dean snapped. Once again Balthazar ignored him, emptying the contents of Bobby's desk drawers and looking desperate. After a moment he gave a sigh of relief

"Bone of a lesser saint. This vertebra will do very nicely," he announced happily "Your Mr Singer does keep a beautiful pantry."

"Wait, Raphael is after you?" Dean tried again. This time, finally, the angel acknowledged him.

"Raphael is after us all. Even Eloa's army, and yes I know about your little friendship with _her_. Anyway, you see, he's consolidated his strength. And now he's on the move," he explained, stirring the bone into the mixture with rigorous motions.

"And where's Cas?" Sam asked with a frown.

"Oh, Cassie? He is deep, deep underground," Balthazar replied, setting down the bowl and dipping on hand into it before starting to draw an unfamiliar sigil on the window. "So, good old Raffy put out a hit list on every last Samaritan who helped our dear Cas - Including both of you. And so much more importantly, me. See, he wants to draw Cas out in the open."

"And you expect us to just believe you?" Sam said, plainly doubting everything he was hearing from the angel's mouth. Cas, the Godfather and Raphael? It seemed too much to even try to accept it as true, let alone manage to. Balthazar shrugged slightly.

"Oh, I don't. You'll go where I throw you either way," he told them, looking unbothered. Dean glared at him angrily, looking ready to find an angel blade and kill him right there and then.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lightning flashed outside as if in reply and Sam felt a shiver run up his spine uncomfortably. Something wasn't right about this. It was too sudden and way too suspicious.

"It means that you won't be seeing your lovely Eloa anytime soon, particularly if Raphael as going for her too, and that's all the time we have, gentlemen," Balthazar announced, looking nervous before opening his jacket. The shit underneath the jacket was even more stained than the outer layer, looking fatal but clearly not affecting the angel all that much. "Where is it?"

"Whoa. What happened there?" Dean asked, alarmed at the wound.

"Oh. Garish, I know," Balthazar replied with another shrug "You see, uncle Raffy sent one of his nastiest to handle me. I'm flattered, actually. And down a lung at the moment, but that's all right." He pulled a key out of his jacket pocket and passed it to Sam as he spoke. "Oh, here's for you."

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Sam asked, staring at it in confusion. Balthazar rolled his eyes at him as if it were obvious.

"Run with it." Suddenly, Balthazar was thrown across the room and into the nearest wall. The brothers jumped slightly at the unexpected attack, preparing themselves the best they could. A second later a man appeared, walking towards them dangerously. It was clear he was an angel. An angry angel. "Virgil…" Balthazar groaned before looking to the Winchesters "I said, run!" Without warning Sam and Dean felt an invisible force slam them backwards and straight into the sigil marked window. It smashed loudly and both boys flailed in the air, unable to control their flight. They landed with a crash, the world around them warping.

"CUT!" a loud voice shouted "Jared, Jensen! Outstanding! That was just great!" Jumping to their feet the brothers looked around, ready to defend themselves against an attack. It didn't come and they blinked uncertainly as another voice came after the first.

"'Supernatural' scene one echo, take one. Tail slate. Marker!"

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Balthazar-_

Getting Virgil off of his tail had been surprisingly easy for Balthazar but if he was being honest with himself he knew that was probably because of the whole 'key' thing with the Winchesters. The entire story regarding the key was extremely elaborate; the weapons, giving the 'key to the weapons' to the brothers to protect and, of course, tricking Raphael into his 'Godfather' move as well. Moving quickly, Balthazar took flight making sure to avoid catching unwanted attention. It took him only seconds to arrive at his chosen destination; the main corridor of the base house of Castiel and Lucifer. A soldier greeted him immediately.

"General Balthazar, Lord Castiel has requested you meet him and Lord Lucifer in the meeting room upon arrival," he told him, bowing his head. Balthazar only just refrained from rolling his eyes. It had been Lucifer's idea to start using titles. Well, not so much an idea as a demand. 'Lord' for the two frontrunners and their consorts and 'General' for the leading soldiers such as Balthazar. It kind of reminded him of Arkill. The other angel had always insisted on calling Castiel, or any leader for that matter, with a great deal of respect. It also made the whole army ironic. Castiel was fighting for freewill yet everything about his army screamed domination and dictatorship.

"Thank you River," he replied after a moment of silence. He continued along the corridor without another word, leaving River to go back to his regular duties which he had no doubt the angel would automatically do. It only took him about a minute to reach the meetings room and he paused outside the door when he got there, carefully listening for tell-tale signs that would inform him whether to actually go in quite yet. He had seen the ashes of those who had walked in on Castiel and/or Lucifer when they were 'enjoying' their mates. It wasn't a pretty way to go. When he was sure it was safe he entered shutting the door behind him.

"Balthazar!" Lucifer greeted cheerfully from on one of the sofas. He was holding Michael tightly to his side. In his embrace, the eldest archangel was staring at the floor, fresh and slowly healing bite marks marring his neck around the gold collar fixed there. "Good to see you! We were hoping you would be here soon."

"You did call me," Balthazar said not amused by his elder brother's good spirits.

"Did you get it done?" Castiel asked from his usual seat on the sofa opposite Lucifer's. Gabriel, as always, was laid across the sofa with his head in his dominant's lap. Balthazar didn't even look at them as he replied and sat down on an armchair.

"Yep, they're in the parallel world and probably freaking out right about now."

"Perfect," Lucifer told him with a smile, beside him Michael snorted in disbelief and Lucifer's smile dropped suddenly.

"Yes, because tricking Raphael and putting our original vessels in danger is a faultless situation in which nothing can go wrong," the submissive sneered, trying to pull out of his brother's grip. Balthazar held back in a smile. As much as Castiel and Lucifer liked to believe he was completely on their side in everything he actually rooting for Michael in the whole Michael-as-Lucifer's-unwilling-submissive battle. He didn't like Lucifer and he had made it clear he only put up with him because Castiel wanted him there. Lucifer's reaction to his mate's insubordination was instant and made Balthazar's good humour dissipate rapidly. The hand not holding Michael to him slipped around the warm metal of the claiming collar and tugged it back so it cut into the elder archangel's throat and choked him.

"What was that?" Lucifer asked dangerously. Michael's hands flew up to the collar to try and pull it back as a thin stripe of blood trickled down his neck. Balthazar looked away quickly, not wanting to see what happened next. His eyes flickered to Gabriel lying in his own master's lap. The youngest archangel was watching his elder brothers with wide, horrified eyes and Balthazar had to wonder how he could be unaware of his own predicament when he could see and was disturbed by Michael being in the same situation. Balthazar wasn't stupid. He knew that Castiel had forced the mate bond on Gabriel like Lucifer had with Michael. Castiel had even admitted it. Yet Gabriel, loving and sweet Gabriel, had broken and that was what made all the difference. Gabriel wasn't horrified by Michael's plight – he was horrified by his disobedience.

"Let go," Michael hissed through clenched teeth, voice weak and gasping.

"Ask me nicely," Lucifer ordered quietly, voice still menacing as he tugged a little more. Michael groaned as more blood seeped from beneath the collar.

"Screw you," the submissive replied painfully sounding stifled by the choking of his vessel. "I am not your toy Lucifer. You may rape me, torture me and abuse me but I will never bow to your whims like a slave. This is nothing more than a test of my faith in Father and I will not fail." Gabriel let out a soft whimper at his brother's words and Castiel stroked his hair gently in comfort, causing Balthazar to look away from them as well in uneasiness. It hurt to see his elder brothers treated like this and he wanted to leave, but without being dismissed that was pretty much suicide.

"Do not worry," Castiel murmured to the angel in his arms as Lucifer shoved Michael onto the floor, backhanding him across the face roughly. "He will learn soon." Gabriel bit his lip and stared at the younger seraph for a long moment and Balthazar could tell he was trying to block out what was happening to Michael just metres away from him as Lucifer continued to beat his submissive mate.

"Castiel, I think we need to move on to the next stage of the plan," he said suddenly, hoping to stop what was going on by distracting both Lucifer and Castiel. Lucifer glared at him from his place on his sofa, one hand fisted in Michael's now bloody hair.

"We will move on when I have finished teaching Michael how to behave," he growled, eyes flashing. Balthazar rolled his eyes and looked over to Castiel.

"We really don't have time for that. If I'm correct, Virgil's probably trying to get to the Winchester's as we speak. Which means…Raphael is going to get that key pretty soon and realise it's a fake not that long after," he said truthfully. Lucifer sighed and let go of Michael.

"Fine. We'll act now, but we're locking Gabriel and Michael in here while we do it. No one comes into these rooms while we're gone."

"Agreed," Castiel approved with an incline of his head. "Balthazar, inform Gratin and Holist that they are to guard the entrance to ensure our mates are safe while we are gone. Then join us at the warehouse."

"And make sure they know not to come in," Lucifer added. Balthazar nodded tightly at the orders, trying and failing to hide his distaste for what he had just seen. If either of the dominant angels noticed, however, they ignored him and turned to their mates in order to say goodbye. Balthazar took this as his dismissal and stood up, leaving the room as fast as he could with only a half glance back as he shut the door. Nevertheless, he didn't miss the frantic look in Gabriel's eyes as he left; fear and desperation that quickly melted into something akin to love and warmth when Castiel forced him to look at him instead. An uneasy feeling set in the pit of Balthazar's stomach at the rapid change and he shivered as he made his way to the guard room.

Suddenly he wasn't quite comfortable with being part of Castiel's army anymore.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Eloa-_

Eloa flew into Bobby's living room quickly, landing just inside the broken window with a worried expression on her face. She was too late. The boys, who she had come to think of as her closest friends (particularly Dean who after his original hostility had become even more friendly than Sam), were gone which meant that whatever Castiel had been planning in order to get the boys out of the way had worked and was still working. She bent down quickly picking up a fragment of the glass and studying it carefully. Blood of lamb, the backbone of a saint and salt – all the ingredients needed to transport someone into a parallel world. Eloa cursed under her breath, sending a quick prayer of apology to her Father straight after for her bad language. The situation was far from ideal though. Without the two hunters she was down a strategic advantage, particularly if Castiel's next move was what she expected it to be. The misleading of Raphael had to mean something and, if she was right, Castiel was using her and the brothers as decoys.

"So all I have to do is lead Raphael to him…" she murmured to herself, glancing out the window. It wasn't a perfect plan but if she could distract Castiel and Raphael with each other she might be able to get the weapons, in which case she could destroy them. She glanced around the room for a moment looking for more clues but didn't see any and bit her lip. She couldn't even be certain of how long the boys had been gone. Perhaps she was already too late and Castiel had got what he wanted. She couldn't be sure.

Without any more hesitation Eloa took flight once more, turning invisible so she wouldn't be caught by any of Raphael's soldiers in the sky. She closed her eyes as she flew, using her other senses to urge her forwards as she concentrated feeling for any grace surges that would be needed to open the weapons storage base. She was assaulted with a huge flood of power immediately and re-angled her wings to fly to the source. Castiel had to be there.


	8. Actors

_**Meanwhile…with Sam and Dean…** _

_-Sam-_

Sam wasn't really sure what the hell was going on. All he knew was that he really wanted to kill Balthazar at this point. Both him and Dean scrambled to there feet as soon as they got some semblance of balance, immediately alert and placing themselves back to back. None of the people around them seemed to notice all that much; too busy running around or talking together in groups.

"Should we killing anybody?" he asked quietly as they looked around, turning on the spot. Dean shook his head a little, sounding confused.

"I don't think so…" Sam relaxed a little at that and stepped out of position, still wary, and noticed there was a smashed window similar to Bobby's behind them and the setting of Bobby's living room just behind that. He frowned deeply, and picked up a piece of the shattered glass from on the floor to study, it wobbled in his hand slightly.

"Dude…this is made of gel," he muttered to Dean. Before Dean could answer a woman hurried over to the younger Winchester, grabbing his hand.

"Jared! Three minutes okay?" Great," she said quickly, dragging him away from his brother. Another woman grabbed Dean and pulled him the other way, saying something about 'Jensen' and 'chairs'. Blinking in surprise and uncertainty, Sam let himself be led and placed in front of a camera too dazed to argue. The woman who had been pulling him along quickly let go of his hand, accepting some form of microphone from the guy behind the camera and starting to talk. "Trish Evian here with Jared Padalecki from TV's 'Supernatural'. So, Jared, season six!"

"What?" Sam asked, completely confused and more than a little panicked.

"You beat the devil, lost your soul, and got it back again," the woman listed eagerly "So tell us, what's next for Sam Winchester?" Sam stared at her in horror for a moment, realising what was going on. Holy shit, was he the star of a TV show about his life? Did people watch their misery? That was just wrong. Trish raised he eyebrows at him a little, pointedly telling him to hurry up as she was waiting for his answer. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. He could wing this, he decided more to reassure himself than anything else.

"Well…I guess the next thing is the challenge of…the angelic war…"

_**A while later…** _

_-Sam-_

After the interview fiasco Sam knew he had to find Dean and fast before he got eaten alive by rabid co-actors or something. It didn't take long as clearly Dean had the exact same plan, hurrying over to him when he saw him from across the room.

"Dude, they put freaking make up on us!" he exclaimed, looking outraged and freaked out at the same time. Sam chose to ignore it, focusing instead on sharing his theory rather than curbing Dean's rage. "Those bastards."

"Look, I think I know what this is," he told his brother in a rush. "It's a T.V. show. In this, whatever this is, our life is a T.V. show."

"What? Why would anyone wanna watch our lives?" Dean asked, looking a mixture of annoyed and uncertain. Sam shrugged.

"According to that interviewer, not very many people do anymore. I know it doesn't make much sense but from what the interviewer said we've landed in some dimension where you're Jensen Ackles and I'm…Jared Padalecki," he explained, sounding a little exasperated and gesturing with his hands. Dean nodded slowly then frowned.

"So what? You're polish now? In fact, whatever it doesn't matter. Right now all we have to do is get home."

"Yeah, I know," Sam replied "So what do you think we should do? Call Cas? Eloa?" Dean sighed and shrugged one shoulder.

"Cas is probably our best shot, if he's still alive, I mean his wingman sent us here after all. He's probably the one with all the information about this crap so…" the elder Winchester trailed off slowly, bringing his hands together uncomfortably. "Dear Castiel, who art maybe running his ass away from heaven, we pray you have your ears on. So…breaker, breaker…" They both looked around hopefully for the trench coat clad angel and after a moment Dean spotted him. "Cas? Cas!" Sam followed his gaze after that and also spotted the angel. Immediately they hurried over to him, relieved that at least someone could explain all this crazy stuff to them. "What is this crap? What did Balthazar do to us man?" Dean asked as soon as they reached him. Castiel's eyes widened slightly before he tilted his head a little to one side in a familiar gesture.

"To keep you out of Virgil's reach, he's cast to into an alternate reality, a universe similar to ours in most respects yet dramatically different in others," the angel told them. "Do you have the key?"

"Yeah," Sam replied, handing him the key from in his jacket pocket. "So what does this thing do anyway?"

"It opens a room."

"What's in the room?" Dean asked.

"Every weapon Balthazar stole from heaven."

"He gave it to us?"

"To keep it safe until I could reach you. With those weapons, I have a chance to rally my forces," Castiel confirmed, swinging the key around his finger. Sam frowned at him, confused by his unusual behaviour.

"Okay…good. So, uh, what's the deal with all this TV crap?" the youngest Winchester quizzed. Castiel gave him an odd look.

"Pardon?"

"This 'Jensen and Jared' bullshit?" Dean prompted.

"Wh-what? Man…did they put out new pages again. I swear they never tell me, Logan and Richard anything in time for us to practise!" Castiel complained, pulling out a bunch of papers from his coat pocket and flicking through the pages. "I can't see anything about 'Jared and Jensen bullshit' guys. You sure you-" Dean snatched the paper from him quickly at that, riffling through the pages before throwing it on the ground.

"It's a freaking script dude. This isn't Cas!" he exclaimed angrily "His name's Misha. Misha! What the hell is that about? I mean, what's up with the names around here?"

"Oh, this is just great," Sam groaned sarcastically. Without another word to the Castiel doppelganger Sam grabbed back the key and put it in his pocket before they started to walk away, ignoring the non-angel as he started shouting things after them. Eventually, after walking for a while, they came to trailer that Dean noted was branded with the other him's name. They decided to go in to try and get some information. As soon as they had entered they were shocked out of their minds. The whole place was a pinnacle for wasted money; a huge flat screen was mounted on the furthest wall playing some kind of gag reel, there were two sofas lining the walls and a 300-gallon aquarium. Apparently Jensen Ackles had a lot of money and didn't mind flaunting it. Sam had quickly managed to find out an expensive looking laptop from one of the drawers and linked it up to some nearby wifi. Seconds later he started to google their fake identities, starting with Dean as Jensen Ackles.

"Alright, so…it says you're from Texas and…you're married," Sam reeled off, scrolling through a Wikipedia page at this point.

"Really?" Dean asked curiously. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, Danneel Ackles. She's a model turned actress."

"She hot?" Sam rolled his eyes but starting looking for a picture anyway.

"Wait a sec…" he said as he searched. "Dude! She's Eloa!"

"What? No way!" Dean replied, walking over and grabbing the laptop from his brother. Sure enough a picture of him and Eloa was on the screen, Eloa in a white wedding dress with his arm around her. "Holy shit, I married fake Eloa! I married a fake angel and...I was on a soap opera?"

"Hey, let's watch a cl-" Sam started with a grin. Dean slammed the laptop shut swiftly.

"Don't even think about it!" he half growled "I don't like this universe, Sammy. We need to get out of this universe. Sam nodded in agreement, standing up and running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, but how? In case you hadn't noticed we haven't been able to get any information to get us home yet."

"If we can reverse Balthazar's spell…" Dean replied carefully

"You think that'll work?"

"If we collect up the ingredients it's got to be worth a shot, right?"

_**Another while later…** _

It turned out that collecting up the ingredients for Balthazar's little spell was a lot more difficult than they first thought. Originally they had headed back to the TV set but, after about ten minutes of useless searching it turned out all the props were fake which, in short, made them one hundred percent useless. Hell, even the knives in the room were the joke type things that slid back into the handle. So they were pretty much screwed on that front. Then when they had tried to leave it had turned out even the impala they were trying to drive was fake. Sam couldn't help but think that was what got to Dean the most, particularly when they were forced to have an awkward drive with their own chauffeur instead where their driver seemed to unconsciously only asking questions that left both the brothers tongue-tied and uncertain of what to say. Eventually though, they arrived at Jared's (or fake Sam's, as Dean referred to him as) house and both got out leaving the driver to take it as a dismissal.

"Dude, please tell me you know how to get into this place," Dean said as they got the door. Sam quickly searched his pockets uncertainly finding a key card in one of them and slotting it into what looked like the lock. The door swung open quickly and Sam's eyes widened as he removed the card and stepped inside, Dean just a little way behind him. "Nice modest digs Jay-Z," Dean commented sarcastically, looking at little shocked as he walked past Sam and looked around the room.

"Wow. I must be the star of this thing," the younger Winchester said uncertainly.

"Yeah right…check it out," Dean replied, nodding towards some sort of coffin shaped thing in the corner. Sam stared at it.

"What am I, Dracula?" Dean smirked slightly, lifting the lid, and revealing it as a tanning bed.

"George Hamilton Dracula," he replied as Sam let out a groan of embarrassment. What kind of guy tanned artificially for crying out loud? This was crazy! Dean let the lid drop carelessly as he spotted a liquor cabinet in the corner, helping himself to a drink. He was about to say something when he paused for a moment staring out a set of glass doors on the opposite wall. "Dude, you have a camel in your backyard!" Sam walked over to have a look when a familiar voice snapped across the room in reply to Dean's exclamation.

"It's an alpaca dumbass," it told them smartly. Both of the brothers jumped slightly at the voice, turning to look at the source. Ruby was walking down the set of stairs near the entrance, looking down at them with a scornful expression on her face. No, Sam realised with a jolt, looking at _Dean_ with contempt. Not him.

"Ruby?" Dean asked in surprise as she got to their level and starting walking over to them.

" _Ruby._ Right…that one never gets old," she replied sarcastically, stopping in front of them and turning to Sam. "How was work today hon?" Sam blinked at her in confusion but she didn't seem to notice.

In fact, that was the point where she _kissed_ him.


	9. Friend Or Foe

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Castiel-_

The angel of Thursday sighed quietly and glanced over at his second in command in annoyance. Lucifer was pacing the room repeatedly in long strides, looking restless and more than a little frustrated himself. Castiel couldn't blame him, well actually he could. He knew what was on his elder brother's mind and was fully aware of how it would distract him from the task of dispatching Eloa as planned. He watched the devil for a while, vowing not to comment but, perhaps a trait borne from spending too much time with Dean in the past, he found himself unable to keep to his internal promise for more than a minute.

"The reason he has not broken yet is that you are being too violent," Castiel said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them as they waited for Balthazar and, in turn, Eloa to arrive. Lucifer stopped his pacing suddenly and turned to him with a frown surprisingly not angry.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly as if thinking his words over carefully before he said them. Castiel rolled his eyes a little.

"I mean what I said," he replied "You are wondering why Michael is still being resistant to you after being bonded for so long."

"And what do you suggest?" Lucifer snapped, looking riled by his honesty. Castiel shrugged slightly.

"I found that treating Gabriel with a softer hand worked better for me," he answered. Lucifer cocked his head to one side in consideration as the younger dominant continued. "That is not to say I did not punish him for disobedience or stop taking my pleasure from him. Merely…I punished him less severely and less often, giving warnings rather than immediate retribution. I also indulged him, allowed him things I knew he would like after periods of compliance. Eventually, it was him who incited physical contact and he has been pretty much perfect ever since."

"You gave him Stockholm syndrome," Lucifer murmured with a smirk.

"What is that?" Castiel asked.

"It a psychological illness," Lucifer explained "The short version of it? Victims of, in this case, kidnapping can start to emotionally bond and care for their captors. That's pretty much it."

"I see," Castiel replied. "I suppose that is what I did."

"It's a good idea," Lucifer commented and Castiel could see he had already decided to attempt it and would begin to treat Michael with a gentler hand from now on. "I think Michael would respond better to a more 'kill with kindness' approach."

"You're going to kill Eloa with kindness?" Balthazar asked, flying in and landing beside his brothers. Lucifer snorted in amusement.

"Of course not, brother," he replied.

"Are our mates secure?" Castiel cut in before Balthazar could ask any questions. The general nodded in confirmation.

"Gratin and Holist are guarding them as you requested."

"Excellent," Castiel praised. "Was there any sign of Eloa nearby as you arrived?"

"I think she'll be here soon." Castiel turned to Lucifer.

"I think perhaps you should get into position so we can be ready for when she arrives," he stated. Lucifer inclined his head in agreement.

"That would probably be for the best. We should all prepare. We do not want to lose our chance at killing her."

"No, we don't."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**At the same time…** _

_-Gabriel-_

The youngest archangel watched Michael pacing silently. His brother was bloody and beaten, slowly healing from Lucifer's onslaughts, but didn't seem to feel the pain as he moved, ranting frantically to him about the injustice of their positions. He didn't really know what to say. He longed to reveal the truth to his eldest brother; to tell him he wasn't broken and in love with Castiel but something kept making him shy away from doing so. He wasn't sure what it was but the feeling was strong and squeezed at his gut unpleasantly when he though of confessing himself to Michael. Sometimes he thought it was cowardice that made him hesitate. After all, he had never been particularly brave. Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Michael had stopped pacing and sat beside him until gentle hands cupped his face and tilted his head up to look the elder angel in the eyes.

"Gabriel, you need to listen to me," Michael pleaded quietly. The archangel stared at him wordlessly, sorrow flowing through him but held back from his brother's view. "Look at what he has done to you. Surely you can see that this is wrong." Gabriel didn't reply, not trusting his own voice. "Brother please…talk to me."

"You-you need to stop fighting," Gabriel said eventually, his voice shaking a little. Michael's eyes widened in surprise and he shook his head, letting go of Gabriel's face carefully.

"I will not give into Lucifer so easily."

"Michael please! I can't stand watching him hurt you. I didn't even want you out of the cage knowing this was going to be your fate. I knew the moment the plan was made that you would never stop fighting but I didn't expect to have to watch it everyday. I didn't expect Lucifer to be so violent in front of others. Just stop resisting him, pretend for me. Hell, pretend for yourself before he goes too far and really goes to town on you," the younger angel begged.

"Pretend?" Michael asked before studying him. "Gabriel are you-"

"I'm faking it Michael!" Gabriel declared without thinking, the truth spilling out of his mouth like a flood he couldn't stop. "Everytime Castiel touches me my skin crawls, whenever he talks to me I want to hide from him forever, but I pretend because I know it's the only way to protect myself and the ones I love." Michael blinked in shock before pulling Gabriel into a hug, holding him tightly.

"Brother, I didn't know," he murmurred into the younger angel's hair. Gabriel relaxed immediently, hugging back just as tight. Michael had never been one for affection so this was a rare display of emotion, one that Gabriel wanted to take full advantage of. "If I had known…I would have tried to kill him by now but I was so worried for your well-being. I did not want to break your mind or heart by doing it."

"It isn't your fault," the messenger muttered, closing his eyes slowly so he could make himself remember the moment.

"I am your brother. It is my duty to protect you Gabriel and I have failed."

"I ran away, I've lied and pretended for all my time away from heaven, how would you have even began to imagine what I was doing when in his arms with so little knowledge of my doings over all these centuries?" the younger seraph argued. Michael gently pulled away from him, still sitting close.

"Nevertheless I should have been able to tell," he replied. Gabriel sighed, knowing he was not getting anywhere with his reassuring. Michael gave him a small, faked smile. "This situation is something I must get us both out of now."

"You can't," Gabriel said, shaking his head. "Even when you're resisting the bond, it still binds you to Lucifer. No claimed submissive can escape the dominant in their mate need help from outsiders."

"Outsiders such as the one that our brothers are trying to capture?" Michael asked with a frown. Gabriel nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, they're after Eloa at the moment. She rallied up an army after my capture, hoping to topple both Castiel and Raphael in order to stop the apocaylpse restarting and free me," he explained.

"Eloa? As in Lucifer's old lover?" Michael questioned, looking uncertain. "I noticed she wasn't in the cage…"

"She escaped when Lucifer first did," Gabriel told him simply. "She is no friend of Lucifer's now. Their time in the cage changed that irrevocably. When I met her she was completely different to before Lucifer dragged her to hell with him."

"So if we are depending on her..."

"They won't get her today. She's too smart for that," Gabriel reassured him. "However, she won't beat them either especially as they have the advantage of surprise with Luci."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Michael asked, realising that he had no knowledge or power in his current situation.

"I carry on pretending and you start to copy me," Gabriel replied. "I know you don't want to but it's the only way."

"I cannot do that Gabriel."

"You have to!" the younger angel exclaimed desperately. "You know what will happen if you don't and you can't let that go down! I need you Michael."

"I will not break. Lucifer is too violent and brash. I can snub such things easily enough, as you well know," Michael replied a little testily. Gabriel glared at him.

"You can fight your own grace? Fight your own inner nature? You're strong Michael but you're not that strong. Lucifer controls large parts of your grace now remember? He has hold of everything you are and that's a hell of a lot to fight against. There's only so much I can take before I go insane Michael. If you crack…I wouldn't- I don't know what I'd do."

"I'm not going to crack!"

"You don't know that!" Gabriel yelled. They glared at each other for a long moment and neither of them spoke, each challenging the other with their eyes. Eventually Michael broke the silence with a sigh.

"I will not break Gabriel," he assured the younger angel softly. "I promise." Gabriel shook his head slightly but knew his protests would fall upon deaf ears.

"That's a promise you better keep."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Balthazar-_

The plan was set in motion; Lucifer hidden in the shadows, him and Castiel unloading the 'weapons' from a grace portal in the wall. They had actually found and retrieved the warheads almost a week ago now but the act was needed as the final set up of the trap. All that was missing now was Eloa. Balthazar couldn't help but hope she wouldn't show. He didn't like what Castiel had become and, although he didn't want his friend to die or be damned to hell, he didn't want him to kill or damn Eloa either. This whole situation was wrong; Gabriel, Michael, working with Lucifer. Castiel had crossed the line with his actions but there was nothing Balthazar could do to make it right. The best he could do was stand at Castiel's side and try to limit the damage. They had been acting for several minutes before a familiar voice cut across their silence.

"Castiel!" Balthazar saw the angel of Thursday smirk at the anger in the usually expressionless tenor and held in a sigh. She had fallen for it and he had hoped so hard that she wouldn't. Castiel turned to face their newest arrival in obvious delight; dropping the 'weapon' he had been holding.

"Eloa," he greeted sardonically sweet. "So glad you could make it." The other angel glared at him darkly, stepping into the room properly. Balthazar frowned a little at that, uncertain of her confidence. Even if she wasn't aware that this was a trap, there was no reason for her to be so poised on her own.

"I'm sure," she replied sarcastically. Castiel blinked in surprise, not expecting the human-like tone to her voice. Only angels who had spent time with humans had that manner about them. She smirked slightly at his expression. "Oh, did you expect me to be more…monotone? Sorry to disappoint Castiel but I've been hanging out with some _interesting_ people." Balthazar forced back a smile, realizing what she meant immediately. Castiel wasn't so lucky.

"What's that supposed to imply?" he asked.

"Where did you put the boys?" Eloa demanded in return. Castiel's eyes widened and Balthazar had trouble keeping back his smile once more.

"You dared to-"

"Answer the question! You got them out of the way but for what?" Eloa growled. Castiel's face twisted into an ugly look, eyes flashing in fury. Balthazar gave him a wary glance. This wasn't part of the plan. They were supposed to reveal Lucifer and then let him kill Eloa. They weren't meant to draw it out longer than necessary. Without warning Castiel flitted across the room, blade out and arm slashing towards Eloa's head. The female angel was ready though and, just before the knife got to her she brought her own up to defend herself.

"This," he hissed trying to force the blade down further. "And now I have even more reason. You stepped into my territory."

"The boys invited me in," Eloa replied with a small quirk of her lips, pushing back so the blade didn't move. "I think Dean's exact words were 'Screw Cas'."

"You bitch!" Castiel pulled his blade back causing Eloa to stumble forward on her knife's follow through. Balthazar saw him slash down once more and looked away. If Cas was going to kill Eloa himself then he didn't want to see it. The sharp metallic twang of metal on metal made his head snap back round. Eloa had saved herself once again, but barely.

"No more Castiel," she told the attacking angel angrily as Castiel continued to strike. She defended each movement swiftly but didn't go to counter attack. "You've gone too far!"

"You will not stop me," the aggressor snapped back. Balthazar bit his lip as he watched them, not moving to help either of them. He heard Lucifer chuckled from his spot in the shadows and looked to the floor in shame. He knew that Lucifer had enough pride not to tag team her but it didn't make him feel any better. After a moment Castiel backed down. Eloa frowned, wrong-footed. "You are not the only one with a couple of tricks up their sleeve." Eloa scoffed, looking down with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Did you steal them from Gabriel like you did his freedom?" she asked flatly, looking back at her enemy with a burning gaze. Castiel gave her a smug smile.

"No. I got them somewhere even better," he hissed "You may even know my source…" On cue Lucifer stepped out of his hiding place, a smirk painted on his lips. Eloa's reaction was instant; she dropped her blade in shock, eyes widening as they flickered from Lucifer then Castiel and back again. Balthazar couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Lucifer's reveal was pretty much the equivalent to a death sentence for her when she was already outnumbered.

"Hello Eloa," the devil greeted smugly. She backed away as he walked forward, each step he took matched by one of her own.

"Lucifer? How? Castiel please tell me you didn't-"

"I can't have you impeding my process any further," Castiel interrupted. "This was the surest way. Goodbye Eloa." He guestured to Balthazar it was time to leave as Lucifer advanced on the female angel menacingly, grinning with the anticipation. Balthazar nodded slightly, biting his lip.

The last thing he saw before flying away was Eloa's look of pure horror.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Eloa-_

Lucifer was advancing and Eloa knew she had to act fast or she was going to die but the sheer fact that Castiel had set Lucifer free was preventing her from thinking straight. The blue eyed angel knew that releasing Lucifer was a dangerous move. His army was loyal but to seek help of the true king of hell to fight a war of God? Surely he could see that this would lead to at least some rebellion and unrest. Shaking her head slightly she put it from her mind. She couldn't afford to be distracted. Her focus had to be on staying alive. Eloa glanced around the room as she backed away from the devil. Her blade was just behind Lucifer now, forgotten by the fallen one, and she was slowly being crowded into the wall by her former lover. She had to get to it to stand even the smallest chance of walking away from this. The question was how.

"I have been waiting for this chance for a while now Eloa," Lucifer told her, breaking her from he thoughts. "After you betrayed me in the cage and we fought for what seemed like eternity, neither of us able to kill the other thanks to the spells upon the bindings. It was so frustrating not being able to kill you."

"Yeah?" she asked, trying to stall him and looking for an opening to reach her weapon. "Am I supposed to feel sorry for you because of that? You dragged me into the cage. If only one of us can be accused of betraying the other then you're the guilty one here brother." Lucifer chuckled darkly.

"Are you so sure of that? I loved you, was it a crime to want to keep you?" Without warning, Eloa darted forward, ducking past the devil as he took another step forward and diving for her blade. Lucifer turned; trying to grab her but was a second too late. She held up the knife threateningly as she got to her feet.

"You never loved me," she replied. "And I never loved you. We both know that so don't try to lie to me." Lucifer smirked, and a blade manifested in his hand; silver like her own but with engravings of gold on the handle. Eloa's eyes widened. There was only one like that in all of existence – the Archangel Michael's blade.

"You know me too well Eloa," he admitted smugly. They began to circle round each other immediately, brown eyes fixing to blue.

"Centuries of fighting in the cage taught me a few things," Eloa agreed darkly. "I see you have a new blade. I'm guessing you stole it from its previous owner." Lucifer laughed loudly, the sound echoing around the room.

"You have such a low opinion of me sister."

"What do you expect?" Eloa asked. "You're the devil."

"Hmmmm, true," the fallen said arrogantly "I didn't steal it though. See, Michael does what I ask of him now. He kind of has to, you know, what with being submissively bonded to me and everything." Eloa blinked.

"So you finally seduced him…" she realised with horror, forcing a condescending smile on her face to hide her dismay. "I would say congratulations but…we all know that he would rather be ripping your heart from your chest." Lucifer's face twisted into a scowl at her words, becoming twisted with fury as she continued. "Really, I don't know what's up with all of you bad guys. I mean, all of you seem to have to force yourselves onto the ones you want to get anywhere. Mind you, let's face it; you were never very good at seduction anyway."

"I managed to seduce you just fine," Lucifer growled. Eloa smirked at him.

"I was dark side at that point honey," she gloated. "I would have had sex with anyone who was as hot as you were back then. You know how things can get all confused when lust takes over. Plus, who would have passed up the opportunity to fuck the Morning Star?" Lucifer took a step forward as if to go for her then stopped, returning to their circling with a sudden smirk.

"You know, maybe you should show the Winchesters the real you Eloa. I'm guessing you haven't been acting quite like yourself around them."

"Leave them out of this."

"Oh have I hit a nerve?" the devil asked mockingly.

"Did I?" she retorted coolly. Lucifer glared at her, annoyed that his comment had been ignored and turned against him. "Anyway, I think that we've flirted enough," she continued with a sneer. "Castiel obviously revived you to kill me. How about you try and do your job like a good little lap dog?"

"You'll pay for that insult," Lucifer growled before attacking viciously with Michael's blade. Eloa defended herself just in time, pushing his blade away. The devil stumbled back a few steps before he regained his footing, pushing forward with another attack just as brutal as the first. Eloa repeated her move, trying for a counter attack that was swiftly blocked. Fear flooded through her when she realised they were evenly matched in their fighting. To others it may have seemed like a blessing but to her it would be a curse. Evenly matched in fighting meant they would have to rely on their angelic healing. Lucifer was a fallen archangel. She was just an angel. Her healing wasn't as good as Lucifer's.

She was going to die.


	10. Wanna Be On Top?

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Sam-_

Sam was in shock. This woman, who looked eerily like the dead demon who had tricked him into starting the apocalypse and he didn't know, was kissing him. Freaking kissing him! When she pulled away Sam stared at her, unsure of what to say or how to react. Dean did it for him, eyes wide in surprise.

"Wait. You and Ruby?" he asked, looking between the two of them uncomfortably.

"You and Eloa?" Sam shot back without thinking. Yeah this was weird but Sam couldn't help but scoff a little at his brother's attitude. Dean's tone made it clear that he wasn't surprised about whom he was apparently dating but more that she had chosen to be with him. Dean floundered slightly for words at that, uncertain of what to reply. From beside Sam, Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Do you honestly think that's funny, Jensen?" she snapped, looking less than impressed. Dean swallowed and shuffled his feet awkwardly as he tried to fix the situation.

"Right. Right. 'cause you're not Ruby. You...I mean, how could you be?" he stammered. Sam nodded a little to urge him along, secretly a little amused but just as freaked out by the whole thing. "You...Of course! You are the lovely actress who plays Ruby. And you are, uh, in...Jared's house, Uh, because you two are..." Dean trailed off and Sam nudged him pointedly to make him speak. Dean must have found some sort of inspiration as a second later he continued. "Married!" Ruby still didn't look pleased though and gave him a disgusted look that grew into a sneer as Dean turned to Sam. "You married fake Ruby?" Sam shrugged a little and mouthed 'Eloa' at him in response as Ruby spoke again.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. Sam bit his lip then replied, trying to seem natural.

"Work. Work!"

"Yeah, just, uh, thought I'd pop in, say "hey." Hey," Dean joined in to keep up the act, failing miserably. "Uh, and - and -and maybe run some lines. It's..."

"You've never even been to our house," Ruby interrupted cuttingly. Dean winced slightly as if she had actually hit him.

"Well, now that I know there's an alpaca out back, I'm definitely coming back," he replied with a bad attempt at humour.

"Well, alpacas are the greenest animal," Ruby said flatly once again looking fed up with his behaviour. Sam sighed a little, glancing between them. It seemed that even fake Ruby and Dean couldn't get on whilst the woman was 'out of character'. Ruby changed the subject quickly after that before excusing herself to go to some sort of charity dinner that Sam had a feeling he should have been going to from the way she talked to him about it. He couldn't honestly say he was sad to see her go. Both he and Dean had stuff to do and she would only get in the way if she was hanging around 'their' house. As soon as she was gone they started searching for some sort of computer to see where they could get a 'bone of a lesser saint' as Balthazar had put it. It took them a while, what with the house being huge and the rooms being over stylised in every way possible, but eventually they managed.

A few hours later they were sat at desks, both looking up bones of saints as if it was normal for them. Well, they had dealt with weirder things before; suicidal teddy bears, murderous fairytale characters and urban legends coming to life. Compared to some of those buying the bones of someone holy was pretty tame.

"Wrist bone of saint and holy reliquary. Museum-quality, from diocese in Oaxaca." - Looks legit." Sam stated as he found another website, hoping that this one was actually useful. So far all he had found were badly written necromantic websites with supposed dark (and very much fake) spells and potions on them. They were nothing to worry about but they weren't particularly helpful in their case either. Dean came over to look over his shoulder and nodded, starting to muse over how soon they could get it and how. Sam cut across him quickly, holding up a black credit card. "Or we could just buy it," he suggested. Dean's jaw dropped for a moment then he smirked.

"Hello Jared Padalecki."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Sam -_

The next day the got up early and were dismayed to find that Clif the driver was waiting for them in his car outside. Luckily, after a little persuading, they managed to get him to take them to the airport that the bone was supposed to arrive at so they could collect it. Sam was the one to actually collect it from the plane, it being fake his credit card after all, and when he got back Clif was nervously asking Dean whether they were doing anything illegal. Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Would it make you feel better if we said no?" he asked pointedly. Clif was silent for a moment before replying with a barely audible 'no' and starting to drive then the studio that they had first arrived in. When they arrived, after thanking Clif, they hurried back to the set they had crash landed on to prepare, surprised when the lights above them flicked on a few moments later and voices began to echo around the room. The brothers glanced at each other as Bob walked into view, talking to a crewmember gruffly. When he saw the Winchesters he smiled.

"Here for the first run-through, before anyone else? Dedication!" he commented. Sam raised his eyebrows and Dean stepped forward to talk to the guy, trying to seem confident when he wasn't.

"Uh, can I talk to you for a second? Um, we're gonna need the, uh, set cleared for - safe side, an hour or so," Dean said as Sam walked away to put their box containing the ingredients for their spell somewhere safe while people were around. Bob looked at him in disbelief.

"You need it cleared," he repeated.

"Yeah. Yeah. Me and, um...Jared were gonna do some actor stuff," Dean continued hopefully. Bob seemed to be taking the words in a little slowly as if he wasn't really sure what Dean was trying to say. A moment later Sam was out of earshot and sat down nervously, not sure of how Bob was going to reply to their request. The fake Castiel, Misha, was sat on a chair a little in front of him and turned round to look at the younger Winchester.

"Ooh, 'priority'," he commented "What's in it?" Sam barely glanced at him, replying without thinking.

"I bought part of a dead person." The other guy's eyes widened comically as he looked at the box with a nervous expression before looking back to Sam and suddenly seeming nonchalant. Sam had to give it to him – he was a good actor.

"Oh, cool." Sam was about to answer him when Dean came over, looking a little panicked. He stood up, leaving the box on the chair, and met him half way with a frown.

"Uh so…bad news. We kinda have to do a bit of acting," Dean told him sheepishly. Sam stared at his brother at the revelation.

"What?"

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Sam-_

This was officially Sam's worst nightmare come to life. Him and Dean acting? It turned out that they weren't very good. In fact, they were terrible. For all their lying and fake identities during hunts they couldn't act to save their lives and, to make it worse, they were acting as themselves. Who the hell was that shit that they couldn't pretend to be pretending to be them self? Okay, so that sounded a little complicated but the idea was simple. It was an idea that neither of the Winchesters could grasp. Currently they were stood on the same set – Bobby's house. Now, however, the guy who played Cas was with them for some sort of scene where they were talking about Balthazar. Sam stood nervously at the back of the set, Dean a little to his left as 'Castiel' stepped forward to face the camera in front of them.

"Balthazar is no hero. But he knows Raphael will never take him back," the actor declared before turning to face them. Both the brothers froze as he did and Dean looked down, noticing he was on his mark and stepping on to it.

"Cut!" the now familiar voice of Bob yelled, sounding annoyed. A few moments later they started again much to Sam and Dean's displeasure.

"Balthazar is no hero. But he knows Raphael will never take him back," Misha told them again, exactly as he had before. This time Dean attempted to reply through the script, clutching it in is his hand nervously. Sam bit his lip, hoping he would do it right.

"Dean, grimly." No such luck apparently because Dean was reading word for word. Most people knew that the beginning of the speaker's part wasn't supposed to be said. Evidently Dean didn't get the memo. "And yet, somehow you got no problem with it!"

"Cut!" Sam glanced at Dean at the newest shout and his brother groaned, glaring at the script with unhidden venom. He clearly wasn't impressed and Sam wholeheartedly agreed with him. This was absolute bullshit. He was briefly aware of Misha mouthing something to the camera with a shocked expression but didn't even care. He was too busy freaking out. They moved on to another part of the scene after that and it was Sam's turn to speak. Not much fun for the younger Winchester. At the call of action Sam started talking, trying to be convincing but too busy staring at the camera.

"That's because...That's because we have no other choice."

"Don't look at the camera," Dean hissed at him. Sam gave him a frightened look.

"What?"

"Look _anywhere_ but the camera!" Sam quickly looked at the ceiling at that, taking his brother's advice and repeating his line with as much conviction as he could muster.

"That's because we have no other choice!"

"Cut!" Bob yelled again, gesturing for him to move onto another line with a sour facial expression. "Action!" Sam tried again with the new line but Bob shouted out another cut before her had even started the second sentence, restarting once again. Carrying on as he was told to Sam tried not to let his frustration show.

"If there's a key...then there has to be a lock. And when we find the lock, we can get the weapons, and then we can have the weapons," he said gesturing wildly and making erratic movements between Dean and Misha. The latter was staring at him with wide eyes, possibly as part of his character but Sam had a feeling it was more out of fear as he continued. "And the lock. We'll still have the lock, I imagine, because we've opened it, and, of course, the initial key."

"We need to get all three of that crap," Dean agreed, managing to keep to his cue. Sam, however, blinked at him in confusion.

"What?" he asked without thinking, dropping his 'character'.

"That's how he talks," Dean explained before turning to Bob, looking nervous as he addressed the director. "Do we really need all these lines? I mean, I-I think we've covered it. Right?" Bob gave him a nasty look waving them both away with a flick of his hand and turning to talk to someone sat beside him. The two brothers quickly went back over to the chairs with unhidden eagerness and Sam looked through the script as he sat down. He shook his head as he read it.

"Who wrote this?" he demanded, sounding slightly desperate and running a hand through his eternally messy hair. "Nobody says 'penultimate'!" Dean nodded in agreement.

"Gun, mouth," he stated making a gun motion at his chin as he spoke. "Now." As he stopped talking across the room so did Bob and the crew guy who quickly announced they were moving on, much to the Winchester boy's relief. Grabbing the box they headed back onto the set using the prop table to keep it on as they unpacked the various ingredients. It only took a few minutes to complete the spell, much to Sam's surprise, and after a sarcastic comment from Dean they set about finishing it, jumping through the fake window.

Moments later Sam found out just how hard the set floor was as the both crash landed onto it. The spell hadn't worked and although Sam hadn't had much hope about it in the first place he couldn't help but be a little disappointed. As much as their world was hell, it was still their home. Here he and Dean weren't even brothers for crying out loud.

"Maybe we did it wrong," he suggested as they made their way back to Jensen Ackles trailer to regroup and come up with a plan B. Dean shook his head, about to speak, when a random crew member came over and interrupted them.

"Mr Ackles, it's time for your interview with the CW channel," the guy said, grabbing Dean's arm and half dragging him away. The elder Winchester gave his brother a panicked look.

"Wh-what? No, I'm fine thanks. Can you rearrange it or something I'm not really-" he replied even as the person pulled him towards wherever the hell he was supposed to be going. Sam followed a little way behind, watching in amusement. So now Dean had to go through the interview hell.

"You've rearranged it twice now sir," the crew member cut in "CW do not want to wait any longer. They need to record it ASAP."

"Well, can't we do it tomorrow?" Dean asked desperately. The guy shook his head and stopped suddenly outside a studio, getting a key out of his pocket and opening the door.

"As I said Mr Ackles. It can't be rearranged, even for a day." The man then turned to Sam with a slight frown. "I didn't know you needed to be in the studio Mr Padalecki."

"Erm…yeah, I though I might just hang around. Jensen and I want to run some lines after so…" Sam lied. The guy nodded, seemingly convinced and ushered them both into the building. Sam held back a grin.

This was going to be hilarious.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Dean-_

"So, Jensen, season six; Sam's back from hell, he lost his soul, you got it back again and now there's apparently gonna be a new angel on the block. So tell us. Are the rumours true? Has Dean got a new angel?" the interviewer asked brightly, swishing her brown hair back over her shoulder. Dean stared at her for a moment, completely stage struck and speechless. They were sat on the set of the 'Tyra Banks Show'. Dean could hardly believe he was being interviewed by freaking _Tyra Banks_! Plus, she was asking him about Eloa. Why was everyone asking him or mentioning freaking Eloa? After a moment of silence, he realised he had to answer the question pretty soon and swallowed, trying to pretend that this was just some random chick asking weird questions in a bar.

"Well, I wouldn't say she's replaced Castiel," he replied with a smile, slipping in 'flirting mode' with a bit of unease. "Saying that though…you probably will be seeing a lot of her. Castiel is kinda busy throughout the season, so El-this new angel provides some angelic help here and there."

"Ah, so the new angel is female?" Tyra inquired.

"Erm, yeah…played by my wife actually…"

"Wow! That's amazing! Danneel on the show guys! Oh, and talking of romantic partners, I've heard some speculations that there's gonna be some romance on the cards for both the Winchester boys. Can you give us any hints about pairings? Will Destiel fans finally have their dreams come true?"

"What?" Dean asked, shocked. Tyra laughed, showing pearly white teeth.

"Surely you know your own pairing names," she said cheerfully "Destiel. Dean and Castiel slash."

"Oh, no, no, no! That is one pairing that won't be featured!" Dean replied quickly, secretly having at mini heart attack at the mere thought. Pairing Sam and him was bad enough, but him and Cas? Fan girls were psychos, he decided, absolute psychos. Dean wasn't gay. At all.

"Awww, sorry Destiel fans! One rumour down!" Tyra announced "Any other romance hints you can give us Jensen?" Dean floundered for a moment, trying to think of something then smirked. It may throw away the interview, he wasn't sure, but it would sure as hell annoy Sam.

"Well…Sam might be getting a little lucky but not with a lady." He glanced into the audience as he spoke, waiting to see Sam's bitch face. He was surprised when he couldn't find it; Sam wasn't there anymore.

"Ooooh!" Tyra commented "And who's the lucky guy?"

"I can't confirm that," Dean said, grinning like a jack o lantern and wildly making things up. "It does have something to do with Cas, the war and someone we thought would never grace the show again though."

"Wow, so a lot of mystery. Talking of Castiel and the war. Gossip mags have been saying that season six has him bringing out his dark side. Just what type of dark side is it exactly?" Dean stared at her again, looking confused and slightly uneasy.

"I can't tell you that I'm afraid," he replied without humour. Tyra looked surprised but nodded turning to the audience.

"Well there you have it guys! A new angel, slash and possibly a darker Cas!" Dean guessed that that meant the interview as over and, after a moment someone yelled 'cut' confirming his presumption. He stood up quickly, noticing Sam coming back into the room as he did. Without another word he hurried over.

"Where the hell were you? I thought you were staying!" he hissed. Sam shook his head.

"I'll tell you later, alright?" he said looking at the other people in the room pointedly. Dean sighed, agitated.

"Fine, but you're gonna tell me ASAP. _You_ didn't just have to go through interview hell, acting as if you knew shit when you didn't."

"I did earlier," Sam reminded him with a small smile. "Dude, it couldn't have been that bad. You just had to talk about our lives."

"It was fucking awful!" Dean told him, gesticulating wildly to emphasise his point. "She started asking me if I was gonna get with Cas! You know, as in, get with get with!" Sam laughed, not able to hold it in.

"At least she wasn't asking if _we_ were gonna get it on."

"This isn't funny Sam!" Dean growled.

"It is," Sam disagreed, smirking. "It's hilarious! Almost worth the trip."

"Yeah well it looks like you might be getting some guy on guy action later on in this freak show anyway," Dean retorted. Sam's eyes widened and Dean grinned; pleased the tables had now turned on his brother.

"What?"

"Well I might have mentioned it in the interview…" Dean teased, loving that he was the one with the cards now. "And they didn't say anything about it being wrong." Sam glared at him.

"Liar."

"I'm not lying Sammy and I can't say I'm all that surprised. All that incredibly mushy talk about feelings and shit? It all makes sense to me now. The reason you act like a girl is 'cause you wanna be boned like a girl," Dean replied. Sam's expression turned even sourer as each word left his mouth, morphing into a full blown bitch face when he had finished.

"I'm not gay Dean," he insisted, tone dangerously close to violent. Dean shrugged nonchalantly ignoring his brother's mood.

"Well, according to the writers of 'Supernatural' you are," he stated. "Anyway, more important things to discuss you know. Your sexual preference can wait." Sam gave him another warning glare and he held up his hands. "Serious now Sammy, the spell didn't work so maybe we can't get out of…whatever this is right now, but we can at least get back to America."

"Yeah," Sam agreed shortly as they walked out of the studio and across the various buildings for the 'Supernatural' sets. Dean was glad he had let the gay jokes slide for now but knew he would probably get hell for them later from Sam's bad mood. They started to walk toward a kind of cross roads thing and Dean started to go ahead at it. "Wait a minute….we should go this way!" Sam said, pointing to the right. Dean shook his head.

"No, it's this way." He continued the way he was going but Sam didn't move, still looking in the direction he had motioned to. Dean looked over his shoulder at him as the younger Winchester spoke, trying not to look exasperated by Sam's constant bickering tone.

"No, Dean, I really think that we should-" Sam began, suddenly the guy who had been chasing Balthazar before they had been sent to this place rounded the corner in front of Dean, who didn't see as he was looking at Sam. "Dean!" The elder Winchester turned to look where he was going but it was too late. Virgil had already got close enough to get to him.

"You think you can run?" the angel asked scornfully, placing a hand on Dean's forehead to mojo him to death.

"No!" Sam shouted, knowing anything he did would have no effect now, and Dean tensed. Nothing happened.

"What's happening?" Vigil demanded, clearly trying again. Sam frowned, relieved but confused before a small smile flitted onto his lips.

"Dean, the spell didn't work…maybe it's because no magic works..." he suggested as Dean relaxed a little, also a bit unsure of what was going on. Dean smirked at the idea and looked up at Virgil. The powerless angel glared at him.

"Which makes you nothing but a dick," he summarised before punching him in the face. Sam joined in straight away as Virgil went to fight back leading to a full out brawl with the Winchesters against the angel. After a bit of a scuffle, the brothers got into a pattern where they took turns punching the angel and throwing him between them. The fight was pretty short lived after that though as they had drawn attention to themselves and some of the 'Supernatural' crew members hurried over, pulling Sam and Dean away from Vigil.

"No! Stop! You don't understand!" Sam protested, trying to twist out of their grip as Virgil managed to steal the key from his pocket before running away.

"You're dead, Virgil!" Dean yelled at the angel's retreating back. "Virgil! I'm gonna break your frigging neck! Hey!"


	11. Ass Back Home

_**In the alternate universe…** _

_-Dean-_

Dean had pretty much decided that this world was a bunch of bull a while ago but his fight with Virgil had made it even more obvious to him. Both he and Sam still hadn't found a way to get back home and although the disappearing of all magic had saved his life it was also a pain in his ass. No magic meant no spell. No spell meant no way of getting home and being stuck in this hell hole. Sam didn't have any suggestions further than finding Virgil to finish him off either which wasn't particularly helpful in the given situation. So now they were heading back to the house of 'Jared and Genevieve Padalecki' to regroup and attempt to come up with a plan in a more comfortable setting. Dean couldn't help but feel a little out of place as they walked up the drive of the mansion style house. It wasn't just that they were in the wrong reality though. It was the whole style of the place - over the top, rich couple. It just wasn't good. Sam, however, didn't seem to notice.

"Maybe we should tap into the police dispatch system," the younger Winchester suggested. Dean nodded in agreement, acting natural.

"Yeah, put out an A.P.B on Virgil," he said quietly "Might work, if he stays obvious."

"It's not like we have a lot of time," Sam replied, running a hand through his hair as they went inside the house. Dean opened his mouth to speak when they were interrupted suddenly by Genevieve bursting through one of the many hallway doors, looking upset with tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god!"

"What?" Sam asked immediately alert. Dean tensed beside him ready for action and glancing behind the woman quickly, expecting someone to be following her. What he did not expect was what she said next.

"Misha!" she exclaimed, and Dean recognised the name as fake Castiel without much of a problem. It was pretty ridiculous after all. "He's been stabbed to death!" Both Winchesters glanced at each other before looking back to fake Ruby with twin looks of determination, speaking in unison.

"Where?" Genevieve gave them a confused and devastated look, seeming not to understand what they were asking.

"Where?" After a bit of argument fake Ruby finally told them where 'Misha' had been stabbed and the brothers made their way there as quickly as they could, much to her shock. She was shouting after them as they left, confused and pitful with the tears streaming down her face. It was a bit weird, seeing the demon who had betrayed them so upset over some she had considered her enemy. _"You're not actually going there right? Right?!"_

Dean honestly wasn't too surprised the police were already at the scene when they arrived. After all, the information had to have got out somehow. Luckily for Dean, most of the officers on duty were female so just a brief conversation with one of them meant Dean managed to sweet talk them into giving him some information. Sam wasn't too impressed with it, but Dean didn't care. This world wasn't gonna change they way he got his information.

"So apparently there was a witness," he told Sam quietly after hurrying over, pocketing the pretty blonde officer's number as he did.

"Who?" Sam asked looking disgruntled.

"Some crazy homeless guy. Kept talking about praying and Raphael," he confirmed. Sam perked up a little at that.

"Anything solid?"

"Apparently he told the police that the murderer was praying with fake Cas' blood in a goblet and he heard a voice replying," Dean agreed with a sigh. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of remorse for the dead guy. Even if he wasn't really Cas. "He said it was weird, what normal person wouldn't? Anyway, he told them that the voice told 'Virgil' to return to the place where he crossed over at the same time and Raphael would reach through the window and take him and the key home."

"Dean, if Virgil gets back with that key, Cas is dead, and our world is toast."

"Well, then we stop him," Dean replied with a slight roll of his eyes, as if it were obvious. "I mean, how bad can an angel with no wings be?" Sam scoffed and gave him a pointed look as if to say 'you're kidding right?'.

"Shut up bitch," Dean said glaring at him a little.

"Jerk."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Dean-_

After deciding to gank Virgil once and for all while he was only human, the brothers started making their way back to the 'Supernatural' set to finish formulating a plan of action. On the journey a thought occurred to Dean.

"You know that if we drop Virgil, get the key…then this might be it. We might be stuck here," he said suddenly, looking at his brother with a contemplative expression. Sam blinked at him in surprise, looking confused.

"No," Sam replied with a small shrug of his left shoulder. "We'll figure out a way back." He sounded sure of himself but Dean could detect a hint of uncertainty in his tone. The elder Winchester was silent for a moment before speaking again forgetting his brain to mouth filters as usual.

"Yeah, you wouldn't be that broken up if we didn't though."

"What?" Sam asked defensively "Don't be stupid."

"Well, I'm just saying. No hell below us, above us only sky…" Dean argued, tailing off slightly when he saw the look on his brother's face.

"Dean, our friends are back there."

"Yeah, but here, you got a pretty good life," Dean reasoned "I mean, back home, the hits have been coming since you were 6 months old. You got to admit, being a bazillionare, married to Ruby, the whole package. It's no contest."

"Yeah, cause you being married to Eloa and just as rich totally pisses you off?" Dean opened his mouth to bite back a nasty retort even though, deep down he kind of got Sam's point. Sam cut him off before he could speak though, sounding increasingly more annoyed. "No, you know, you were right. We just don't mean the same thing here. I mean, we're not even brothers here, man." Dean sighed slightly before nodding.

"Alright, then. Let's get our crazy show back home," he said clapping Sam on the back as they got closer to their destination. Sam gave him a small smile that dropped when the unmistakable sound of gunshots were heard from where they had just walked through. "What the fuck?" Dean asked turning back around. Sam did the same and both of them ran towards the source of the noise, not knowing what to expect. Virgil seemed to pretty much appear in the doorway, blocking their way out. Dean lunged at him automatically, trying to punch the angel in the face. Virgil dodged quickly but not before Sam joined the fight stealing key from Virgil's coat pocket as he avoided more vicious hits. When Sam had made sure Virgil had no chance of getting the key back, withdrawing slightly, Dean let up a little but still continued to give the angel a beating. A few seconds later though Dean heard him shout out to warn him about something but he wasn't sure what it was exactly, too busy trying to rearrange Virgil's face.

"Dean! Raphael!" Sam yelled. Dean glanced at him with a frown telling his brother he didn't understand through body language. Sam didn't seem to notice and without another word of warning, Sam grabbed his arm and dragged him backwards. At least, Dean thought Sam was the one tugging him back until they smashed through the familiar set window of fake Bobby's house. They landed painfully on the cold pavement with twin groans of pain.

"For fuck's sake…" Dean hissed as they got up from the floor. A woman stood about ten meters away from them not seeming even slightly bothered they had just seemingly fell out of nowhere. Somehow Dean knew they were home but didn't voice it. The woman started to walk towards them, still expressionless.

"You two have the strangest luck," she stated coldly as she advanced. As soon as she spoke Dean knew who she was and, even in their dire situation, he couldn't help but make fun of the new acquaintance.

"Raphael?" he greeted with a cocky grin. "Nice meat suit…dude looks like a lady." Beside him Sam snorted in amusement. Raphael squeezed her fist tightly, glaring at them. Dean groaned as agony shot through his body, doubling over at the pain. He was briefly aware of Sam doing something similar beside him but tried to focus on ignoring his own pain before tackling Sam's problems. There was a small clink as Sam dropped the key in his agony and Raphael walked forward to pick it up.

"The key," the archangel stated simply, holding it carefully. There was short gust of wind and both the brothers blinked to stop their eyes from watering. When they had opened the again Balthazar was stood in Raphael's original spot smirking.

"And that will open you a locker at the Albany bus station," he told Raphael honestly. Dean stared at him at the revelation, shocked and more than a little angry. So much so he didn't hear what Raphael said next, only Balthazar's smug reply. "You see, I needed a modest decoy to make it more convincing."

"Give me the weapons," Raphael demanded. Balthazar chuckled quietly.

"Sorry, darling," the seraph replied "They're gone."

"What?"

"I said, too bloody late," Balthazar continued, explaining in a gleeful tone as he walked forward so they were face to face. "You see, they were so well-hidden that I needed time to find them. So, I volunteered these two marmosets for a game of fetch with Virgil."

"You've made your last mistake," Raphael told him, practically growling out the words. Balthazar smiled at her winningly.

"Oh, I've got a few more up my sleeve, honey." Another rush of wind and the brothers turned and Dean had to admit, a little guiltily, that he was disappointed when it was Castiel and not Eloa who stood in the direction the noise had come from.

"Step away from him, Raphael. I have the weapons now. Their power is with me."

"Castiel…" Raphael greeted darkly, stepping forward and ready to fight. "Do not treat me like a fool. Your numbers could not possibly have thwarted both factions."

"I did not need numbers to overcome them," Castiel replied coldly. Dean tensed at his tone as he looked between them; they seemed to be having some kind of show down with their eyes until Cas shook his head slightly in warning. "If you don't want to die tonight," he told the archangel confidently, a shadowy flash of wings fell on the wall behind him menacingly and thunder rumbled to announce a thunderstorm would be greeting them shortly. Even the eldest Winchester couldn't hold back his shiver at the display of power, intimidated by his angelic friend. Raphael tilted her head to one side as Cas finished up his threat. "Back off." There was silence for a moment before Raphael disappeared, clearly sensing her defeat. Balthazar approached the younger angel after that, biting his lip.

"Well, Cas...now that you have your sword, try not to die by it," he said quietly. Dean frowned deeply at his nervous expression. Something about it was troubling but he wasn't sure what. All he knew as that something wasn't right and if Dean Winchester had to admit to actually hating anything other than demons and all round general evil?

He would pick not knowing something.


	12. Everybody's Fool

_**Then…** _

" **You see, I needed a modest decoy to make it more convincing."**

**"Give me the weapons."**

**"Step away from him, Raphael. I have the weapons now. Their power is with me."**

**"Do not treat me like a fool. Your numbers could not possibly have thwarted both factions."**

" **I did not need numbers to overcome them."**

" **Well, Cas...now that you have your sword, try not to die by it."  
**  
 _ ****Now…  
_ _-Dean-_  
Before either of the brothers had a chance to ask what Balthazar was talking about Castiel disoriented them by transporting them back to Bobby's house. Regaining his sense of balance, Dean glared at the angel not even knowing how to start asking. Sam didn't seem to have the same problem though; managing to get back his footing and turning to the angel angrily.

"Cas, what the hell?" he began, walking towards the seraph with an annoyed expression on his face. Dean looked at Cas pointedly, waiting for him to answer as Sam continued. "Wait, wait, you were in on this! Using us a diversion?" Castiel didn't say anything for a moment then glanced at the floor before looking back to them.

"It was Balthazar's plan," he explained carefully before sighing. "I would have done the same thing."

"That's not comforting, Cas," Dean said sharply. Castiel glared at him, eyes flashing in outrage. Dean couldn't help but take a step back at his anger but the angel didn't seem to notice.

"When will I be able to make you understand?" he growled, stepping forward a little in irritation. Dean recognised the intimidation technique with a feeling of trepidation **. He would not be scared so easily even if Castiel was an all-powerful angel.** "If I lose against Raphael, we all lose. Everything."

"We know the stakes," the elder Winchester told the angel coolly. Castiel tilted his head slightly in disbelief, a trait that Dean used to find amusing but now just seem infuriating. "That's about all you've told us!" Cas bit his lip slightly at that and Dean couldn't help but feel a little victorious. At least now Cas might actually tell them what was going on rather than keep them in the dark. Cas sighed and looked up again to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry about all this," the angel said in a genuinely apologetic tone. Dean felt Sam shift beside him, physically showing his own wish to know what was happening in the war. Even Eloa only told them so much. If Cas told them then a lot of the mystery would be cleared up. Their hopes were squashed rapidly with Castiel's next words. "I'll explain everything when I can." Cas disappeared straight after and Dean couldn't help the flare of anger that coursed through him at his vanishing act.

"Friggin' angels," he muttered under his breath. Sam nodded then frowned, slipping a hand into his jacket pocket and pulling something from it. A smile broke across the younger Winchester's face when he saw what it was and he held it up to Dean. The elder Winchester raised his eyebrows. It was a DVD case of some kind with the words 'Season six trailer' written in black marker on the side.

"What's that got to do with anything right now Sammy?" he asked snappily. Sam ignored his bitchy tone and grinned.

"We don't need Cas to explain anything. Not with this DVD," he said confidently. Dean stared at him for a second.

"What? That's the most stupid thing I have heard you say. I swear if this is another weird porn thing like Gabriel's death video I'm gonna -"

"Hell no!" Sam cut in. "Look, I stole this from in that weird alternate universe."

"That universe was fake Sam," Dean replied bluntly. Sam shook his head.

"You really think Balthazar has enough juice to do that?" he retorted incredulously.

"Gabriel could do it."

"Gabriel was an _archangel_ and a trickster," Sam argued logically. "Balthazar doesn't have that kind of mojo. Besides, this thing would have disappeared if it was completely fake." He gestured with the DVD to punctuate his point. "What I'm saying is, that TV show was pretty accurate from the sounds of it so maybe this think can give us an idea of what's gonna happen next!" Dean thought about it quickly. Sam had a point. Hadn't Tyra Banks mentioned some of the stuff that had happened to them over the years? _"_ _Sam's back from hell, he lost his soul, you got it back again and now there's apparently gonna be a new angel on the block. So tell us. Are the rumours true? Has Dean got a new angel?"_ Yeah, she definitely had. Glancing at his brother Dean sat down on one of the battered chairs scattered around the room.

"Maybe you're right," he said slowly. "But do we really wanna watch it? I mean, that DVD could tell us a lot of things. We might not want to know all of it."

"Just because we might not want to know doesn't mean we don't need to know Dean," Sam replied quietly. Dean sighed and nodded.

"Fine. Get your laptop. Let's watch this thing." Sam gave him a smile and headed over to where he had left his laptop before Balthazar and Virgil had ambushed them. He had only just picked up the case when a loud crash echoed through the house. Dean jumped up from his seat, ready for action but relaxed when he saw the familiar figure of Eloa a little way away through the newly broken window. His relief was short lived as she drew closer, heading for the window with one arm around her stomach and the other hanging limply at her side. Dean walked over to the window with a frown, noticing the angel was staggering a little.

"Sam!" he called urgently as she came closer. The angel looked terrible; she was covered with blood, a huge gash was down her limp arm and she had several cuts on her face. Dean didn't doubt that her uninjured arm was hiding another injury. She looked ready to drop. The younger Winchester hurried back into the room just as Eloa got to Dean, tripping over the window frame as she stepped inside and falling into his arms. Dean managed to keep her upright, helping her in and she groaned coughing a little.

"Lucifer…" she croaked faintly and Dean tensed. "He brought Lucifer…"

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**A little while later…** _

_-Sam-_

Eloa had fallen unconscious straight after her revelation, not waiting for the brothers to ask who exactly she meant when she said 'he'. Dean seemed to think that she meant Raphael but something gave Sam the feeling that wasn't who the angel had been talking about. This was someone different. Someone new. Dean had got Sam to clear the shabby sofa at the corner of the room and they had laid her unmoving body on it to rest before sitting back down on two worn wooden chairs they normally used when looking up lore.

"How can Lucifer be out of the box Sammy?" Dean asked, running his hands through his short hair. "You shut him in the box good and proper. Michael too. Hell you trapped your soul in with them! How can that son of a bitch be free?" Sam shook his head uncertainly.

"I don't know but Eloa said someone brought him. That suggests someone opened the cage to let him out," he said carefully.  
"Then why isn't the apocalypse on our asses?" Dean replied. "If someone opened that cage then Michael sure as hell wouldn't have just sat there. They would have both got out and started ripping into each other."

"We don't know that," Sam disagreed.

"We can though," Dean told him, glancing back to Sam's abandoned laptop on the nearby desk that had been forgotten in the confusion of Eloa's beaten appearance. Sam got the hint and nodded, retrieving it and the DVD case resting on top of it. "Let's get this show on the road." Sam put the DVD in without another word, starting it up straight away. The trailer started off ominous, annoyingly so, and Sam seriously wanted to fast forward. The setting was dark, and a silhouette was stood outside a window with Dean, Ben and Lisa just inside around a dinner table. Him, he realised with a small shiver. A soulless him. The scene cut after a moment to Dean and him meeting outside, sunlight now.  
 _"Sam?"  
"Hello Dean."_ A snapshot of a hug where Sam stood stiffly in his brother's embrace followed by another change of setting; inside a house with Lisa and Dean saying goodbye. Sam looked away awkwardly, trying to give his brother a little privacy. Although this was a bunch of other worldly actors on screen it felt like it was just a really well shot video; like he was snooping on his brother's life.

" _I need you to go."_

" _I can't just lose you and Ben."_

" _That's not what I'm saying."_

" _You're saying hit the road."_

" _Dean, if there's some rule that says this all has to be either/or, how about we break it? Me and Ben will be here, and you come when you can. Just come in one piece, okay?"_ Beside him Dean flinched, sighing slightly and his shoulders slumping. The scenes began to jump more after that; Bobby threatening Crowley, a vampire Dean, Sam trying to kill Bobby and the impala driving itself at Dean. A second later it was their first meeting with Eloa, bloody and beaten.

" _I am Eloa, an angel of the lord."_ Then there was another set of snapshots; Dean backing away from two figures of his younger brother, Cas walking down a corridor with his fists clenched tight and a flash of black punctuated by a gasp and an unfamiliar voice pleading.

" _Castiel please don't do this."_ The two brothers shared a look, both frowning before looking back to the video. More cuts, mostly insignificant but one stood out above all the others. Castiel and Eloa together with their blades locked in combat.

" _No more Castiel. You've gone too far!"_

" _You will not stop me_." Dean tensed in his seat, glancing over to the unconscious form of Eloa nervously and Sam could guess his trail of thought with ease. Was she an enemy in disguise? More scene jumps followed the revelation before slowing down to Eloa's first night with them where she was talking about Castiel. Sam sighed reaching for the remote but Dean stopped him, shaking his head.

" _Every angel has a dark side that they must embrace at least once. It is only a matter of time before the angel of Thursday finds his…"_ One last scene cut followed; Castiel sat on a sofa in an unfamiliar house, one arm around someone just out of frame and the other holding something that made Sam's eyes widen in horror. The four rings belonging to the horsemen of the apocalypse. Castiel smiled at the camera, eyes sparkling slightly.

" _It is time to release our older brothers_." The screen went black after that before the words 'Supernatural Season Six' appeared in blood red. Sam switched the television off straight after, biting his lip.

"You don't think…" he began carefully.

"He wouldn't. There's no way Castiel would even think about- He must have been possessed or something…" Dean started over him, shaking his head in disbelief and shock. "I mean, it can't be-"

"It's true," a familiar voice cut in and both the brother's turned to look at the source. Eloa sat up slowly, looking noticeably better but wincing as she did. "I'm sorry but it's all true, and if you are willing to listen. I will explain everything." Sam looked at his older brother questioningly and Dean nodded.

"Then you better start explaining."

 

 


	13. Anthem Of The Angels

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Lucifer-_

The fallen angel landed outside his and Castiel's base camp gracefully, smirking in amusement when the two angelic guards at the door jumped to attention before moving to the side to let him in. He didn't say anything to them, just opened the door and went inside striding along the corridor to the lounge he knew Castiel would be residing in by now. He arrived swiftly entering with an air of arrogance even though he knew Castiel would most likely be annoyed with his actions. He had to admit that he respected his younger brother but he wanted to finish Eloa his own way, and if that meant ignoring Castiel's orders to kill her outright so be it.

"Hello brother," Castiel greeted looking up from Gabriel, who was laid with his head in his dominant's lap. Lucifer nodded as he walked over to the sofa he usually sat on. He was surprised to see that Michael was already sat on it waiting for him. Then again, where else could the eldest archangel go when Lucifer had forbid him from leaving the room until he said so? Lucifer sat down with a small smile at his submissive. Then, remembering what Castiel had told him about treating Michael with a softer hand, he gently pulled Michael against him. His brother squirmed a little at his touch but didn't resist too much, eventually stilling when he tightened his grip until it was just enough to be close to but not uncomfortable.

"So, what's the plan?" Lucifer asked brightly. Castiel frowned, stroking Gabriel's hair. The youngest archangel smiled lightly in his master's lap, seeming to bask in the gentle touch, and Lucifer rolled his eyes, not willing to admit he was slightly jealous Michael wasn't as pliant.

"Update first," Castiel ordered quietly, looking back down at his mate with a small smirk. "Is Eloa dead?"

"Horrendously injured? Yes. Dead? No."

"What?" Castiel growled dangerously, head snapping up and eyes flashing in anger. Lucifer sighed in annoyance. He wasn't scared of Castiel's wrath in the slightest.

"You said I could kill Eloa. I'm doing it my way. No discussion. Now, what's the plan?" Castiel looked like he was going to argue then shook his head slightly as if to clear it.

"We need to get rid of a few loose ends," the angel told his elder brother. "Before I decided to release you and Michael I was working with the newly crowned King of Hell in order to open purgatory. I think it does suffice to say that I no longer need to do that." Lucifer tilted his head to the side with a smirk prompting Castiel on. "Our contract needs to be terminated."

"When you say terminated…"

"I do not mean kill him," Castiel replied sharply, hand stilling in Gabriel's hair. "Crowley may be of some use later." Lucifer's eyes narrowed at his tone and the familiar name.

"Crowley?" he repeated dangerously. "Crowley was named the new King of hell?"

"With some resistance from certain demons," Castiel confirmed, resuming in his previous actions. Lucifer muttered a few choice swear words under his breath. It was no secret that he despised Crowley after his betrayal with the Colt in Carthage. The gun may not have been able to kill him but it had hurt. A bullet in the head would do that to you. Beside him Michael shifted slightly, unconsciously relaxing into him a little and bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Right, so if we're not going to kill him we'll just have to talk to him. I'm guessing you want me to be present?" the Devil said carefully. Castiel shook his head.

"I was merely informing you that I would be talking to him. I have a more important task for you."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Lucifer asked intrigued by the younger angel's bluntness. It fascinated him how Castiel had no fear of him now even when he was technically a lot more powerful.

"I need you to kill Raphael," Castiel told him. Lucifer felt Michael tense beside him at the words but ignored him, focussing on Castiel instead. "Actually kill him though. He is not like Eloa. You can't play with your food when it comes to him." Lucifer pouted, mocking him.

"Awww, but I wanna play with the ickle archangel." Castiel blinked but showed no other reaction, not impressed by his act.

"You are not amusing." Lucifer sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll kill him. When do you want it done?"

"As soon as possible."

"I can go do it now I guess," the Devil said reluctantly, releasing his grip on Michael and standing up. "Are you going to talk to Crowley straight away?" Castiel nodded and Gabriel sat up from his place lying in the younger angel's lap with a disappointed expression on his face. Castiel smiled at him as he stood, cupping his submissive's face with one hand and drawing him to a kiss. Lucifer pointedly looked away, turning to Michael who sat unmoving on the sofa.

"You are going to kill our brother?" Michael asked softly, voice tinged with disappointment. Lucifer nodded, surprised that Michael was not shouting at him in anger. The eldest archangel looked down at the floor sadly. "Why? He has done nothing wrong. He is trying to follow our Father's will."

"No, have you ever thought that maybe Father never wanted us to fight again? Honestly Michael, do you really think that he wants us to destroy his precious humans while at war when he had me cast down for refusing to love them?" Lucifer asked forcing himself to merely sound exasperated rather than show the fury that was boiling in his twisted grace at his brother's words. Michael swallowed hard but didn't look back up at him and Lucifer knew that he knew the sense of his words. "Were you even acting on Father's orders when you decided to meet me in battle?" Lucifer continued, briefly aware that both Castiel and Gabriel had left the room. Michael was silent for a moment.

"I acted as I thought Father would wish," he replied eventually. His voice was still muted and he maintained his staring at the floor rather than looking into Lucifer's eyes. The Devil frowned.

"Are you saying you _chose_ to fight me?" he enquired gently, hurt rather than angry now. Michael's head snapped up at that, green eyes meeting blue with sudden ferocity. Lucifer blinked at their intensity. Michael rarely displayed such emotion in any way, least of all in his eyes.

"I chose nothing. I did what was right! I did what Father would have ordered me to do!" the elder seraph protested. Lucifer shook his head.

"Since when has anyone been able to guess what Father's orders would be?" he asked, unsuccessful in his attempts to hide how upset he was after hearing true reasons for his brother's actions. "You know that Father's orders varied all the time. He was unpredictable when I was in heaven. Why would he have changed now just because he has also left its domain?"  
"I-I-" the older angel began, stammering when he could find no answer. Lucifer quickly lost his patience and, remembering to stick to his new 'kinder' approach did not use violence, interrupted him.

"Forget it Michael," he snapped. "I don't want to hear your excuses anymore. Go to our room and wait for me there. We'll finish this discussion later."

"Lucifer I-"

"Do not push me!" the Devil shouted, losing his cool. "I am trying to be patient with you – trying to make you feel comfortable and see that I love you. Stop making it so damn difficult and do as you are told!" Silence fell between them as soon as he spoke the words and Michael bit his lip before hanging his head; the urge to follow Lucifer's order searing into him through the bond. Wordlessly, he stood up and left the room, knowing not to fly without Lucifer's permission. When he had gone the Devil let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair. This new approach to handling Michael was tougher than he had thought it would be. It was frustrating. Annoyed, Lucifer grumbled to himself for a minute before deciding he need to blow off some steam somehow. Maybe he would torture Raphael a little bit before he killed him. He was pretty sure Castiel wouldn't mind as long as the younger archangel was dead before Lucifer came back to the base.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**A few minutes later…** _

_-Lucifer-_

Locating Raphael's base on Earth was, in Lucifer's opinion, shamefully easy. It was true and a well-known fact that Raphael was an archangel which did, of course, come with a bit of extra power than the general angelic population. Flaunting it in the middle of a war as Raphael seemed to be doing though was downright foolish. Perhaps it was a little hypocritical but Lucifer couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed in his brother for being so prideful. Although, saying that, he found it slightly amusing that it was going to lead to Raphael's downfall. After all, it was rather ironic; the younger archangel's impending death at the hands of the angel that had been named the most prideful of all time made sooner due to his own myopic arrogance. What Lucifer found more amusing though was Raphael's surprise at his arrival.

The guards, minor angels who had little to no worth in Lucifer's eyes, were easily and quickly dispatched. They were dead before they could even think to draw their blades and Lucifer stormed into Raphael's makeshift 'throne room' covered in their blood.

Needless to say, Raphael wasn't been expecting him. The younger angel was sat lazily in an armchair similar to how Castiel would often sit with Gabriel in his lap, listening to some sort of report from one of his soldiers and jumping when Lucifer thundered in. The soldier talking stopped his sentence half way through, instantly moving to draw his blade. Lucifer rolled his eyes as the gesture, taking in the defensive movement before dispatching the angel with a casual flick of his wrist. From his seat Raphael gasped, studying him warily for a second before relaxing back into his seat.

"Lucifer," he greeted. "I thought you were still stuck in the cage with Michael. I've been working to free you."

"I was," the Devil confessed with a shrug. Raphael frowned at him in confusion.

"You escaped?"

"Not exactly," Lucifer replied coolly. "You see, while you were attempting to get one over on sweet little Castiel in order to kick start the apocalypse all over again Castiel was actually formulating his own plans."

"I don't understand…" Raphael began. Lucifer cut him off impatiently.

"Castiel freed Michael and me, offering me a deal I simply couldn't refuse if I would help him in this war," he explained. Raphael shook his head, seeming excited by the prospect.

"No, Lucifer. Don't you see? There doesn't need to be a war! With you and Michael free you can fight and possibly cause the apocalypse alongside!" the younger archangel argued with a wide smile. Lucifer shook his head indulgently.

"Oh brother you are too naive," he replied. "Do you have any idea what Castiel offered me in exchange for my service?" Raphael frowned.

"Nothing that could matter half as much as fighting Michael."

"I will not be fighting Michael," Lucifer said, laughing at the idea. It was absurd that Raphael hadn't already realised the truth yet. Could he not remember the secrets Lucifer had once told him when he was fledging? The truth about how much Lucifer loved their older brother. Clearly not.

"What could possibly mean that much to you?" Raphael hissed in shock, flinching slightly at the mere suggestion. Lucifer smirked at him darkly.

"I would never feel the need to fight with someone who is claimed as my beloved," he told the younger angel watching in amusement as horror filled his brother's expression. "Well, unless he wanted me too."

"You can't have bonded," Raphael stated, taking a step back. "You _have_ to fight. It is written!" Lucifer chuckled, advancing in pace with his brother's step.

"Not everything that is written must come to pass," he said cryptically. "Just as not everything that is not written is impossible."

"What do you mean?" the younger one asked fearfully, unaware he was being backed into a corner as he took another step back. Lucifer smirked, the expression cruel and feral as it stretched across his face.

"I mean this." A second later, the archangel Raphael was dead and Lucifer left.

His work was done here.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Castiel-_

One of the many things that Castiel disliked about working with Crowley was that they always ended up meeting in unsavoury places. Today was no exception. This time they were meeting in an abandoned and ruined old warehouse just off a barely used country road.

"Castiel, really, summoning me like this is getting old," Crowley greeted, already waiting for the angel by a one of the broken down staircases in the main work house. "Need I remind you that you are the bottom in this relationship?" Castiel tilted his head to one side, an amused smirk breaking across his face. The expression seemed to unnerve Crowley who frowned, a hint of worry showing in his eyes.

"I'm renegotiating our terms," Castiel told him coolly. Crowley let out a disbelieving chuckle.

"Is that so? What terms do you propose?" he asked, leaning back against the mangled staircase. Castiel knew though, despite his casual tone, the demon was panicking.

"You get nothing. Nothing except your life," Castiel replied simply.

"You're joking right?" Crowley scoffed, shaking his head. "I can't help notice, seems a bit unfairly weighted." Castiel stared at him for a moment before replying.

"I don't need you anymore. I have a new and more useful associate now. Besides, did you honestly believe I would hand all that power to the king of Hell? I'm neither stupid nor wicked."

"What do mean a 'new associate'?" Crowley demanded dangerously, advancing towards the angel with a menacing air. Castiel remained unmoved by his threatening body language. "I brought you this deal Castiel!"

"I'm not opening purgatory anymore," the seraph replied. "Why open it when I have the Devil as my second in command?" Crowley stopped in his tracks at the revelation and Castiel felt a smug feeling of satisfaction course through him at the action.

"What?"

"The Devil works for me," the angel said slowly, as if talking to an idiot. Crowley stared at him for a moment.

"You're joking. You have to be joking."

"No. I opened the cage, freed the Devil and have pretty much won the war without your assistance. So here are your options. You either flee, or you die," Castiel explained. He was deadly serious and Crowley was beginning to annoy him now. Why the demon need confirmation of everything he said he didn't know, but it was incredibly frustrating.

"We made a pact. Even _I_ don't break contracts like this," Crowley replied, sounding desperate. Castiel resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the pathetic tone to the King of hell's voice.

"Flee, or die," he repeated coldly. Crowley bit his lip before disappearing without a word and Castiel smiled in victory. Everything was going perfectly; Crowley was out of the way, Raphael would soon be dead, and he had the Devil tied into his army. All he had to worry about now was getting rid of Eloa which wouldn't be difficult with no opposition from other people. Then all he could do what he wanted and keep Gabriel at his side forever. The cherry on the top, however, was the sweetest part – even more so than Gabriel's love and submission.

He had managed to do this without the Winchesters knowledge, avoiding the chance of ruining their friendship.


	14. Crush Crush Crush

_**Then…** _

" _He wouldn't. There's no way Castiel would even think about- He must have been possessed or something…I mean it can't be-"_

" _It's true, I'm sorry but it's all true, and if you are willing to listen. I will explain everything."_

" _Then you better start explaining."_

_**Now…** _

_-Eloa and Dean-_

Eloa had been in many awkward situations before but this was the most uncomfortable she had ever experienced. The Winchesters were both looking at her expectantly and she sighed. Although they both wore similar expressions she could tell that this was a lot more difficult for Dean.

"I suppose…I should start at the beginning," she said carefully, sitting on the edge of one of Bobby's many desks. "I was originally part of Castiel's army and he was, at first, just fighting Raphael for the freewill of the angels but he was losing. _We_ were losing. We needed help and none was coming. Then, one day, suddenly Castiel had thousands of souls and in one swoop we were back in the running. I didn't know where he'd got them but they helped. For a moment, I even thought we were going to win. Then I noticed it. The souls were dark. I don't know how or where he got them, but they were evil. Not pure. They weren't souls of heaven willing to fight. I started to get suspicious and I confronted him."

"You challenged him? How?" Sam asked slowly. Eloa bit her lip quietly and twisted a lock of hair around her finger nervously.

"Verbally," she told them. "In fact…perhaps I should show you."

"Show us?" Dean said quietly.

"If you don't mind," she confirmed holding up her hand with a shaky smile. Dean nodded quickly; she placed two fingers to his head gratefully before doing the same to Sam. Immediately they were thrown in the memory she was talking about.

_They were in the living room of some kind of mansion, huge and ordinate with fancy wallpaper adorning the walls and plush cream carpet beneath their feet. Four black leather sofas were decadently shaped in a square a little way in front of them, a double of Eloa was sat on one of them opposite to Castiel, looking uncomfortable. The three of them all watched carefully, the present day Eloa standing to Dean's right. The memory version looked hesitant as it began to talk, eyes wide and focused on Castiel._

" _Where did you get those souls from then Cas?" she asked carefully._

" _That is none of your concern Eloa," Castiel said coolly. "Now what's the latest report on Raphael's forces?"_

" _Don't avoid answering the question Castiel," Eloa snapped back, looking annoyed. "They were dark souls. Souls from hell."_

" _They were provided by God."_

" _Don't lie to me! Our father would never involve himself in this war," the woman growled. "What are you hiding?"_

" _I am hiding nothing." Eloa stood up suddenly, looking livid._

" _Why are you lying? I won't judge you Castiel. You're doing our Father's work, but…I need to know." There was silence for a moment and Castiel stared at the female angel, seeming to contemplate her words for a moment._ Beside the real Eloa Dean took a deep calming breath and Sam gave him a worried glance.

" _I'm done something terrible Eloa," he confessed suddenly. "Something…I doubt Father would want me to have done but, I asked for his guidance and he gave me none. I had to do something." The memory Eloa sighed, sitting back down heavily._

" _I'm sure that it can't have been that bad," she assured him sweetly. "What was it?" Another silence followed her question before Castiel pulled the double forward and whispered something into her ear as if he knew they were being watched. The reaction was instant; Eloa pushed Castiel away fiercely looking furious. "You've done what? You've done **what**? Get away from me!"_

" _Eloa I-"_

" _We trusted you as an ambassador for heaven and you're partying with the occupants of hell?" she shouted, standing up once more. "When the army hears…"_

" _They won't hear!" he snapped back threateningly, also standing. The woman chuckled disbelievingly._

" _And how do you propose to stop me? You know I learnt things in the cage, why do you think you made me your second in command? To stand around and look pretty?"_

" _I'll find a way. Trust me," Castiel threatened._

" _We'll see," memory Eloa stated with a smirk. "But, just so you know. Take this conversation as my resignation from your army and a declaration of war on you."_ The scene faded to back after that but they didn't return to Bobby's house, instead Eloa continued her story and moved them on to another memory.

"After that I was hunted. Castiel was working with darkness and cruelty and I couldn't stand by and let him use it in God's name. I drew up my own army, managing to inform some of Castiel soldiers who I knew would join me due to their devotion to what was right. Then I heard the news. Castiel, it seemed, still had a certain amount of our Father's favour. Perhaps it was an act to try and save Castiel from his where he was heading but…it didn't work. Castiel had embraced his dark and Father handed him the one thing that would make him sink deeper into it," she explained sadly.

"What did he give him?" Dean asked, voice rough.

"Father gave Castiel an archangel." The darkness shifted and a room formed around them. A familiar room; a motel they had stayed in a while back. Both the brothers gasped when memory versions of themselves practically appeared pinned to the wall above the two queen beds they had slept in that night, just in front of where they were standing. The past versions of themselves were both staring in horror at the opposite corner of the room. Dean took a step forward but Eloa held him back. "Just watch. You won't be able to do anything to change this," she told him sadly. Reluctantly Dean stopped, following the gaze of his double. His eyes widened at what he saw. Gabriel and Castiel facing each other off and both of them were looking furious.

" _You are not as powerful as you once were,"_ _the memory of Castiel gloated smugly "And, as God brought you back due to my prayers, he has gifted them to me making you more susceptible to mine, hence why you are having difficulty with flight. Now, you will come with me." Gabriel took a step back, shaking his head and Castiel sighed loudly._ A moment later the both had their blades out and Dean couldn't help but flinch. What the hell was Castiel playing at, tangling with an archangel?

" _You want me?"_ _Gabriel asked._ _"Try and take me."_ _Silence followed for a moment after that and then, without any warning the two angels were blurs, fighting against each other fiercely and the two past versions of the Winchesters were fighting against whatever was restraining them to the wall with worry in their eyes._ As they were fighting a thought occurred to Dean.

"Why don't we remember this?" he asked urgently, hoping she wouldn't tell him but he had already guessed. He had no such luck.

"Castiel wiped it from your mind." Dean swallowed thickly at that, turning back to watch the memory once more just in time to see Castiel disarm Gabriel, the archangel pressed up against the opposite wall.

" _You will come with me now," Castiel stated coldly._

" _You think I'll do what you say just because you beat my ass?" the elder angel said scornfully. There was silence for a moment in both the memory and between the three onlookers, and Castiel smiled slowly_

" _No. I think you will do what I say because you are mine."_ Dean glanced at Eloa in confusion but she merely inclined her head towards her brothers, indicating to carry on watching. He bit his lip but did as she told him to.

" _No!" Gabriel growled, trying to dart away. Castiel blocked him and slammed him against the wall again, disorienting his victim. Gabriel went to make another attempt but was stopped halfway. It took Dean a second to realise that Castiel had his hand in the elder angel's chest, much how he had once done when looking for Sam's soul. Gabriel let out a sob, his head smacking against the wall. "No…"_ _A plea this time followed by a pained whimper._ Forgetting it would make no difference, Dean found himself shouting at Cas only to hear his past self yelling the same thing alongside him.

" _ **Cas, for fuck's sake, stop it!"**_ The angel ignored both of them and Dean felt like collapsing. Castiel really had gone dark side. There was no denying it now. Castiel never ignored him. He would disagree at times but never completely blank what he was saying.

" _Castiel please don't do this," Gabriel begged._ Dean couldn't help but recognise the words from the trailer they had just watched and blanched. If that was true, how much else was? _"I'll return to heaven, help you achieve your goals, learn to love you as you want me to and even die for you in battle if I must but only if you just stop. Let me keep my will."_

" _You made your choice when you ran Gabriel and cannot change it. Therefore, I will not change mine," Castiel said coldly before starting to chant in Enochian. When he had finished Gabriel practically collapsed into his arms, muttering something into his ear. Castiel pulled his hand out of Gabriel's chest victoriously and yanked his head back by the archangel's golden brown hair, murmuring something in reply that the onlookers couldn't hear. Gabriel seemed to relax in Castiel's grip with the words, looking completely broken._

" _Amiran,"he said quietly, just loud enough for the spectators to hear, and Castiel smirked before silencing him with the most dominating, vicious kiss Dean had ever seen in his life._ Dean looked away quickly at the sight and the image faded to black once again. Beside him Sam was tense, voice tight as he broke their silence.

"What the fuck was that?" the younger Winchester demanded, rounding on the angel stood with them. Eloa looked at him slowly and Dean flinched when he saw tears sparkling in her eyes. Since when did angels cry?

"That was Castiel forcing Gabriel to submit in a mate bond," she said flatly, wiping her eyes. Dean swallowed hard at the revelation.

"The last thing Gabriel said?" he asked quietly.

"Enochian. Amiran means yours," Eloa told them. "Castiel broke him. The Gabriel you once knew is gone. All that's left now is a slave of Castiel's lust, if anything is left at all." Dean let out a sigh looking down in regret as Sam let out a choked sound, as to hold back tears of his own.

"I thought that he loved Dean. Would he would have done that to Dean given the chance?" Sam said quietly. Eloa nodded with a remorseful look on her face.

"Love can be complicated for angels. We sometimes love in strange ways. Castiel does still love Dean and he would have done something similar to him." None of them spoke for a minute; the two humans taking in the new information.

"What else has he done?" the younger human asked, voice hard. Eloa waved her hand once again and immediately the dark around them shifted into an unfamiliar scene; an empty looking warehouse. Balthazar and Castiel were at one side of the room, unloading something from a battered looking locker. There was a flutter of wings before a familiar voice called out and a ruffled looking Eloa walked past them.

" _Castiel!" The angel turned at his name with a smirk._

" _Eloa," he greeted "So glad you could make it."_

" _I'm sure," Eloa replied sarcastically. Castiel blinked in surprise and the brunette woman gave him a smirk of her own. "Oh, did you expect me to be more…monotone? Sorry to disappoint Castiel but I've been hanging out with some interesting people."_

" _What's that supposed to imply?"_

" _Where did you put the boys?" Eloa demanded. Castiel's eyes widened._

" _You dared to-"_

" _Answer the question! You got them out of the way but for what?" Eloa growled. Castiel's face twisted into an ugly look, eyes flashing in fury before he flitted across the room, blade out and arm slashing towards Eloa's head. The female angel defended herself quickly._

" _This," Castiel hissed. "And now I have even more reason. You stepped into my territory."_

" _The boys invited me in," Eloa replied with a small quirk of her lips. "I think Dean's exact words were_ _'_ _Screw Cas'."_ Beside the current Eloa Dean's eyes widened and he glanced at the angel. She flushed slightly under his gaze and he wondered her sudden increase in personality had come from as he turned back to the memory.

" _You bitch!" Castiel pulled his blade back and Eloa stumbled forward. Cas attacked again as she did and Eloa only just managed to saved herself from the deadly blade._

" _No more Castiel," she said as they fought. "You've gone too far!"_

" _You will not stop me. You are not the only one with a couple of tricks up their sleeve." He stopped attacking suddenly and Eloa scoffed._

" _Did you steal them from Gabriel like you did his freedom?"_

" _No. I got them somewhere even better," he hissed "You may even know my source…" An unfamiliar man they hadn't noticed before stepped out from the shadows. The past Eloa dropped her blade in shock as the one beside Dean flinched._

" _Hello Eloa," the new arrival greeted smugly. The woman backed away as he walked forward, each step he took matched by one of her own._

" _Lucifer? How? Castiel please tell me you didn't-"_ The two Winchester onlookers gasped at the name, mirroring the shock of Eloa's counterpart.

" _I can't have you impeding my process any further," Castiel interrupted. "This was the surest way. Goodbye Eloa."_

The scene cut to black straight after that and Dean closed his eyes painfully. It was true. It was all fucking true. Castiel had gone dark side and was working with Lucifer of all people. When he opened his eyes they were back at Bobby's, still sat where they had been before the visions. The eldest Winchester took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.

"So that was who had beaten you to shit earlier?" he asked, voice surprisingly calm for the situation. "Lucifer?" Eloa nodded.

"And his vessel…another temp? Is he gonna be hounding me again?" Sam added, looking worried. This time Eloa shook her head.

"No. That is not a temporary vessel. From what my limited sources could gather they somehow used your blood to make the vessel worthy to hold him indefinitely," she explained. "Besides, I doubt he would trust you enough to take you as a vessel again after you managed to return him to the cage."

"True that," Dean agreed half-heartedly.

"Well at least that's one thing we don't have to worry about."

"Yeah, we've just got to worry about a whole army of angels led by one of our best friends and the _Devil_ ," the elder Winchester snapped. Eloa sighed loudly at his outburst and Sam's jaw twitched.

"Castiel is no friend of mine," he said coldly. "Not after this."

"My sentiments exactly," a new voice stated, making them all jump in surprise at the unmistakable British accent. The brothers and angel all quickly turned to face the new arrival, ready to fight.

"Balthazar," Eloa greeted carefully, suspicion clear in her tone as her angel blade formed in her hand. "What brings you here?" Balthazar held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. His usually smug demeanour appeared to be gone and, for once, he seemed quite serious as he stepped closer to them. Eloa didn't lower her blade.

"I've come to pledge allegiance," he told them simply. Dean snorted in amusement.

"Yeah right, we're not stupid. You're pretty much Castiel's main lackey nowadays," the human retorted distrustfully. If the use of the angel's full name was noticeable Balthazar didn't comment, but it was difficult not to see how hard Dean seemed to be taking the news that his friend was, in his newly enlightened eyes, an evil psychopath.

"Even I draw the line at certain points," the blonde angel replied. Sam raised his eyebrows but kept his mouth shut when Eloa address her sibling, knife still in hand and ready to strike if the occasion arose.

"And what point would that be?"

"The point where Castiel is working with one archangel, has two enslaved and has had the other one murdered in cold blood," Balthazar said bluntly. The two Winchesters tensed at the revelation and Eloa lowered her blade a little in shock.

"Raphael is dead?"

"Yes, he was killed a few minutes ago," Balthazar confirmed. "By Lucifer, of course. Castiel doesn't have that kind of power quite yet, even with his abilities from the mate bond." Eloa sighed and her blade disappeared as her shoulders slumped. Dean stared at her, alarmed by her defeated posture. She straightened up after a minute, running a hand through her brunette hair, messing it up as she did so.

"If you are truly going to help me-" she began wearily. Dean cleared his throat and she smiled a little, noticing it and recognising what it meant. "If you are truly going to help _us_ then you will need to be willing to answer any questions we might have." Balthazar nodded.

"Fair enough. After everything I've done I think can start trying to make amends by doing at least that," he agreed with a small shrug. Eloa gave him a smile of acceptance in return.

"We best begin," she said swiftly. "Michael…Lucifer mentioned that-"

"Yes, Lucifer claimed him," Balthazar cut in sombrely. "I watched it happen; it was one of the terms of Castiel's deal with him."

"Wait, what?" Dean demanded, looking shocked and disgusted. Beside him Sam blanched and bit his lip before letting out a sigh.

"Did Michael give in?" the younger Winchester asked quietly. Balthazar gave him a confused look at his lack of reaction.

"As far as I know he's still fighting. At least he was when I left," the blonde angel replied. Sam ran a hand through his brunette locks, looking slightly relieved at his answer.

"Good," the younger Winchester muttered. "Let's hope it stays that way. Lucifer had a lot of plans for if he ever managed to capture Michael. I kind of feel sorry for the guy." Dean shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other at the admission. Honestly, could this whole problem get any worse?

"I've got some potentially good news," Balthazar said, trying to lighten the mood just a little. "I don't think Gabe has actually broken."

"Why would you say that?" Eloa asked, sounding hopeful. Balthazar grinned having effectively diverted the conversation to a slightly better topic.

"It shows in his expression sometimes when he thinks no one's looking. Gabe's a good actor, he always has been, but even he accidentally drops out of character sometimes," he explained. Sam stood up looking both relieved and angry at the new information.

"If that's true then Castiel's still raping him," the younger Winchester spat out, disgust clear in his voice. Eloa sighed and shook her head slightly.

"You know that, technically, isn't true. By acting as though he loves Castiel there is a high chance Gabriel is giving him consent even if he does not truly want it."

"It's coercion at least," Sam argued, folding his arms. Eloa thought for a moment then shook her head again.

"Gabriel is choosing to act oppressed but is not truly forced into anything," she replied carefully. Sam lost his cool at that, kicking at a desk in frustration and causing Dean to jump.

"Why are you defending Castiel?" he demanded angrily.

"Because these are the defences that a human court would throw at you and you know that. I am aware of your education," Eloa told him coolly. "Imagine what an angelic court would ask." Sam looked placated for a moment until Dean spoke up, trying to assist Eloa.

"She's just trying to help Sammy." It was the wrong thing to say.

"Well maybe she should have tried harder to stop it in the first place!" Sam shouted, turning on his brother furiously. "Or she could have rescued him already rather than just sitting on her ass!" Dean went to make a retort but Eloa stepped in and cut him off.

"Do you have any idea how hard I have worked to try?" she growled angrily. "Why do you think Castiel released Lucifer to kill me? I have made over thirty attempts to save Gabriel, leading and losing many angelic brothers and sisters in the process. I have been thwarted every time. This is not just war to me Sam Winchester! This is _personal_." A dangerous flash of the shadow of wings appeared on the wall behind her as her fury peaked causing both Winchester to jump back in shock. Balthazar let out a huff of annoyance.

"When you have quite finished trying to verbally rip each other's throats out," the blonde angel said wearily, making it clear that he was aware just how much work his new alliance with them was going to be. "Let's discuss our next rescue attempt shall we?" Silence fell for a short moment and Eloa glared at Sam before nodding. Dean glanced between his brother and friend nervously as she spoke.

"Yes, it will be easier now I have all of you to help me; Castiel's friends as it were." Sam looked disgusted at the word 'friends' but didn't comment. It was already clear that, after finding out what he had done, he would never forgive Castiel for his choices and resultant actions. Ignoring his brother's expression, Dean smiled grimly.

"What do we have to do?" he asked, jaw set in determination. Eloa brushed a lock of hair behind her ear before replying.

"Be a distraction."

"Didn't you try that strategy before?" Balthazar reminded her slowly, looking anxious at even asking the question.

"Yes, but we distracted his forces with an attack on the house. We didn't distract _him_ ," Eloa countered with a small nod to show she wasn't annoyed with him, "This time we will focus on Castiel and try to draw him away from Gabriel using Sam and Dean."

"How would we do that?" Dean asked curiously.

"Castiel doesn't know that you are aware that Gabriel is alive. If Balthazar takes you to visit him at the base 'under your request' then he will have to see you and won't be able to stay with Gabriel. He will leave him alone somewhere with high protection," she explained thoughtfully.

"Right…and you'll get Gabe while we do that?" Sam queried, sounding less hostile now that he knew how hard she had been working and what she was planning.

"No," Eloa disagreed. "I'll be short circuiting any security; human or magic he has to stop people from getting to Gabe. Balthazar will be getting him out."

"What are you going to do if you get caught in the control rooms?" Balthazar challenged, seeming surprised by his given role in their plan. "Maybe I should-"

"I think I should get Gabe," Sam cut in quickly. Eloa frowned at him but didn't interrupt, hearing him out. "Honestly? He's not gonna trust Balthazar because he's been a general in Castiel's army."

"I agree," Eloa said simply. Sam blinked in disbelief.

"You do?"

"Your point is valid. Balthazar can remain as back up. It also means he can be a spy for us if his assistance isn't required. Why would I argue with that?" Eloa replied, looking confused. "I want what's best for us and if you think that you'll be able to help Gabe better than Balthazar I trust your judgement." Sam's eyes widened in shock and Dean smirked slightly in amusement at his uncertainty.

"That doesn't take into account if you get caught though," Balthazar repeated, aggravation in his tone. Eloa smiled.

"I won't," she assured him. "Besides, even if I do, I'm a 'Slut of the Lord' remember? I'll figure something out." Dean raised his eyebrows at the derogatory term used instead of 'angel'.

"Slut?" he asked humorously. Eloa grinned at him.

"Sleeping with Lucifer gets you nicknames. That happens to be my favourite," she told him mischievously. "What? You didn't seriously think I had no personality? I just get uptight when I'm serious and at war."

"I'll bear that in mind," Dean replied and Sam elbowed him in the ribs pointedly. "So when are we starting this plan then?"

"Immediately."


	15. Imaginary

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Gabriel-_

"You belong to me," Castiel whispered into his ear as he pushed deeper into Gabriel's reluctantly pliant body, lain out on his back on the bed. "No one else. Nobody but me will ever touch you again because you're _mine_." The archangel groaned at the unwanted pleasure that coursed through him. He could feel Castiel's desire through their bond, overcoming his own emotions and consuming him ever so slowly and piece by piece. "Say you're mine."

"Yours," Gabriel gasped out obediently, hoping that Castiel was too worked up to read his thoughts which all but screamed in denial. _Sam, I belong to Sam. Sam Winchester. No one else but him._

"Again," the younger angel demanded thrusting in and out roughly and taking all he wanted from Gabriel's body, pulling the submissive's legs to wrap around his waist so he could push even deeper. The new angle made Gabriel arch his back helplessly for more, too far gone to ever turn back, and all he could think was of Sam. Sam; the one he loved, the one he wanted.

"Yours. Yours forever," he promised breathlessly, not to Castiel but to the image of the younger Winchester brother that was bright in his mind.

"Yes, you are," Castiel growled darkly, driving into Gabriel a little harder and the archangel felt himself slipping; the lines between Castiel's emotions and his own blurring completely. It was all he could do to remember not to scream Sam's name rather than his dominant's as he came. Castiel reached release a few thrusts later, sharp teeth biting into Gabriel's shoulder to both muffle his groan of pleasure and emphasise his claim. Gabriel weakly guessed he had called Castiel's name at the other man's reaction, relaxing into the younger angel as he was expected to when he pulled out. A moment later he heard the familiar sound of a quite click of Castiel's fingers and he was immediately clean and clad in a pair of black boxers. He sighed quietly at the sound. He had used to love it and use it as a form of showmanship. Now it just seemed taunting and reminded him of the power he had lost with Castiel's claiming. Castiel rolled them over swiftly so he was on his back and Gabriel was laid beside him, head on the other's chest with Castiel's arm wrapped around him. He reacted without thinking, used to doing so by now, and snuggled closer with a small, forced smile.

"I love you," he whispered, the lie tasting foul on his tongue. He felt Castiel smirk as he kissed his hair and pulled him closer.

"I know you do," he murmured. A knock on the closed bedroom door interrupted their quiet conversation and Castiel looked up briefly before looking back to his submissive. "Come in." Gabriel frowned a little. Usually Castiel would never let anyone see him in this state of undress. However, when Lucifer and Michael walked in and closed the door behind them he realised why. Neither of his elder brothers were technically single, nor would they want to claim him if they were. They were no threat to Castiel.

"I hope we weren't interrupting anything," Lucifer said with a grin, leading Michael over to the dresser in the corner so they could sit on the two chairs beside it.

"We had just finished actually," Castiel replied, sounding smug as he sat up and pulled Gabriel up with him. Another click later and they were fully dressed; Gabriel in jeans and a black t-shirt and Castiel in his usual suit, just without his trench coat. The youngest archangel looked down at the floor, acting shy to cover up his shame. Lucifer briefly looked at him in amusement but Michael stared in a mixture disgust and sadness.

"Good timing then," the devil commented. Castiel nodded, squeezing Gabriel's waist slightly.

"Have you done it?" he asked simply.

"Raphael is dead," Lucifer answered with a small inclination of his head. Gabriel's head snapped up at the revelation, glancing at Michael desperately for denial. The eldest angel gave none, looking back at him miserably. A small sob caught in his throat, an uncontrolled choked sound coming out in his despair. He had never been all that close to Raphael, thinking him too cocky and rude, but he had still been Gabriel's brother. The youngest archangel had still loved him, despite his flaws. Castiel gave him another squeeze, just enough to hurt this time, as a warning but Gabriel couldn't help it and shook hysterically in his dominant's grip.

"He's dead?" he questioned frantically, voice practically a plea as he looked to Lucifer for answers. The devil watched in surprise, eyeing Castiel nervously for cues at how to respond. Both Castiel and Michael didn't seem so uncertain but, then again, Gabriel knew it was quite common knowledge now that Gabriel couldn't stand fighting in his family let alone murder. Still holding him Castiel sighed and changed tactics, stroking Gabriel's hair in an attempt to calm him.

"It had to be done Gabriel," he murmured soothingly in the golden eyed angel's ear breath warm against the sensitive skin. "He would have ruined everything; taken you away from me, forced the apocalypse on the world and your brothers. We couldn't allow it. Isn't it better to lose one brother than lose another and the world alongside?" Gabriel let out a shaky breath at his words. Surprisingly they were successful in soothing him but only because he could see the sense behind them. Forcing back his hysteria he pressed himself as close to Castiel as possible, burying his face in his dominant's neck and clinging to him. He had never wanted their bond before but now he clutched at it; not letting it take him over but using it as comfort in his sorrowful understanding. Castiel wrapped his arms around him gently to give him a feeling of sanctuary from his acute emotions and Gabriel could feel his resistance gradually breaking down. It had always been inevitable that his act would start crumbling because that was what happened with forced mate bonds; they broke the submissive down until they were completely consumed by their dominant's will. Until then Gabriel had been in control of his defence but with the news he wasn't sure how close he was to breaking anymore.

He'd never been more vulnerable to Castiel's will.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Lucifer-_

After Gabriel's sudden and unexpected breakdown and eventual recovery Lucifer brought the conversation back on track, trying to ignore the jealousy he felt for Castiel's bond with Gabriel. He didn't want Michael to be exactly the same as Gabriel, of course, but he longed for the closeness and compliance that came with a submissive's surrender to their dominant. "So that brings us on to Eloa's army – the last of the resistance," he stated quickly. Castiel looked up from Gabriel, still stroking the youngest archangel's hair.

"Yes, she needs to be destroyed," he replied thoughtfully. "But we need to be delicate about it."

"Delicate?" Lucifer repeated questioningly. Not understanding quite why they would need to be subtle with her death. She was now their most formidable enemy. In his opinion her death should be made a show for all to see as a symbol of their victory. Castiel sighed loudly and Lucifer could tell he knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Did you listen to my conversation with Eloa before your first fight with her?" the younger angel asked him, sounding a little annoyed. Lucifer shook his head slightly, unperturbed by Castiel's attitude.

"No why?"

"She has hinted at having strong connections to the Winchester boys," Castiel explained impatiently. "In fact, she gloated about it." Lucifer felt irritation bubble up in his grace at his words. The former vessels. It was always about them with Castiel. They had to tiptoe around them so they didn't find out about his return when dealing with everything; subtly threatening their army and using Balthazar as a decoy second in command when the need arose. Lucifer had originally thought Castiel's association to them would work in their favour but now it just seemed to be a hindrance. The younger angel was so caught up in trying to stay in their goodwill that they couldn't implement even the most simple of plans (such as hunting down Eloa and shoving a knife so far into her grace it shattered into dust.) Beside him, Michael shifted uncomfortably in his seat and the younger archangel realised he was projecting through their bond. He swiftly calmed himself, purposely placing a gently reassuring hand on Michael's leg. He was surprised when his elder brother tensed but didn't move away; progress it seemed. Castiel cleared his throat pointedly and Lucifer shook his head a little to clear his thoughts and return to the matter at hand.

"I see," he replied slowly. "So we need to avoid the blame being traced back to you."

"Preferably," Castiel agreed. "We also need to make sure they remain unaware of yours and Michael's return. It will lead to unnecessary complications."

"That's a tall order," Michael murmured quietly. Castiel and the other two archangels stared at him in shock when he spoke but the eldest angel continued, ignoring their expressions. "One you can't possibly succeed in." Castiel's face twisted slightly in anger at his statement and Lucifer purposely moved closer to his submissive. He didn't like what Michael was saying and, like the others, was surprised that he had dared to speak when he was so helpless but he wouldn't allow Castiel to harm him – if anyone was to punish Michael it would him and him alone.

"What makes you so sure?" Castiel hissed venomously. He relaxed back into his seat a little despite his anger. A clear sign to Lucifer he would not attack the eldest archangel. Lucifer didn't move from his defensive position though. He didn't trust Castiel's self-control, particularly when the angel was in the shadow of his deadly sin.

"What makes you so sure she hasn't told them all your dirty little secrets?" Michael asked, twisting Castiel's words unpleasantly. The younger angel glared at him then after a moment he laughed, although it sounded forced and hostile.

"Have you actually met Dean Winchester?" he mocked coldly. "He is much like you if you recall. He would not simply know and not confront me. He would attack head on. That is how I know." Lucifer frowned when Michael gave his reply, mind racing at why his brother would suggest this now and for what purpose. He didn't want to help them. He had made that clear earlier. So what was his motive? He couldn't work it out. Michael didn't seem to notice his uncertainty, tilting his head to one side in a way that Castiel had once used often.

"I wouldn't be so certain."


	16. Dark Side

_**A little while later…** _

_-Dean-_

Plotting against Cas felt weird to Dean. He wasn't going to lie to anyone, not even himself, when it came down to describing what they were doing. Cas was his friend or at least he had been before all this 'darkness and deadly sin' mess. The angel had done a lot for him; pulled him out of hell, fallen from grace and had even stopped him from saying yes to Michael. So in all honesty he didn't feel all too comfortable conspiring against the angel. In fact it made him feel slightly sick, especially now when they were talking about how to deal with him once they had defeated him.

"We have to kill him," Balthazar insisted. "After everything he's done to Gabe he deserves to die." Stood beside him Sam nodded in agreement, jaw set in determination as Eloa shook her head looking rather appalled by the idea. Dean's eyes widened as he stared at Sam and the blonde angel in shock. It hadn't occurred to him that they might be expected to kill his once best friend.

"No," Eloa said sternly, beating him to it. "Murder is not the answer to this."

"Murder is always the answer in war," Balthazar argued.

"That's not true," Dean disputed coldly. "The answer to war is trying to survive. Not kill."

"And get killed in the process," Balthazar sneered back. Sam sighed a little.

"Look Dean, I know you still see Castiel as your friend but he's done a lot of bad stuff that he can't just be forgiven for. He's raping Gabriel, no matter what a court would say it still counts," he told him softly. "And if he's let Lucifer and Michael out of the cage we're all in danger."

"Yeah…but slaughtering him?" Dean replied swiftly. "We're better than that, Sammy. At least I thought we were…"

"Just because he used to be our friend doesn't mean he's any different from any other monster we've ganked Dean!" Sam retorted, exasperated by this point. "We've killed for less, or don't you remember? Amy! Madison! Hell, even Bobby's wife!"

"This is different!" Dean snapped back defensively. Sam snorted in disbelief.

"How's it different? Maybe you like the idea of Castiel being so hung up on you. Is that it? Is it just because this particular monster wants to fuck you into the nearest surface until you can't stand up anymore?" he hissed nastily.

"Enough!" Eloa cut in, shouting to overpower their voices. The enraged retort that Dean was about to let loose died in his throat and he closed his mouth quickly. "We are not going to kill Castiel."

"Eloa…" Balthazar began with a sigh. The brunette angel held up a hand to silence him and shook her head.

"No Balthazar. We are looking to save Gabriel. Not condemn him by ripping part of his grace to shreds," she interrupted matter-of-factly. "If we kill Castiel we stand a large chance of destroying Gabriel completely. The psychological damage would be immense."

"Psychological damage?" Sam repeated in horror. "What do you mean psychological damage?" Eloa bit her lip slightly, looking uncomfortable.

"Mating is essentially a tie between two graces. So…think of it as similar to a strong ionic or covalent bond. The two graces are practically welded together as one to create a stronger and more vibrant grace, even if one of the two sides is attempting to reject it," she explained carefully. Sam frowned and shook his head.

"I don't really get what you mean." Eloa sighed loudly.

"It's basic science," she told him, her patience obviously wearing thin. "Chemical compounds; Carbon dioxide, oxygen and the like. For example, hydrogen and oxygen bonding to create water." Sam blinked in surprise.

"Oh…"

"Moving on with the metaphor…" Balthazar prompted with a frown, the usual sparkle in his eyes dimming as he realised what Eloa was implying.

"Think of the hardest material in the world made by ionic bonding - a diamond. Now think of trying to break it in half into two perfect pieces." There was a damning silence as the brothers and the blonde angel glanced between each other. Eventually Sam answered sounding defeated.

"Not possible."

"And that is what we're up against with Castiel and Gabriel," Eloa explained. "Killing Castiel would be the equivalent of shattering that diamond and slaying them both."

"So what do you suggest?" Balthazar asked with a sigh. "He has Gabriel's powers, Michael captured, Lucifer and the equal to two armies at his disposal. When have you last been in contact with your soldiers _General_?" Eloa glared at him then looked at the floor.

"I lost contact with them when I first met Sam and Dean."

"So our allies consist of us?" Balthazar stated with a roll of his eyes. "I see that this is a fair fight."

"Nothing in war is fair," Sam replied coolly. "And your sarcasm isn't helping."

"And what else other than sarcasm and wit can you suggest in this _delightful_ situation?"

"That we work together," a new voice stated from the doorway. The four of them all turned to face the new speaker with varying expressions. Sam and Dean looked outraged, Balthazar confused and Eloa in a mixture of disgust and uncertainty.

"Crowley," she greeted coldly. "And what can we do for you?"

_**-Crowley-** _

A second passed in silence before Dean drew out the colt, aiming straight for the king of the crossroads. Crowley sighed and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Dean didn't lower his gun but Crowley couldn't say he was all that surprised. The brothers may have worked with him before but that was in a different situation. Now he was an enemy. Now they trusted even less than before. Despite what he often said about them Crowley knew that they were smart.

"I do wish you'd stop with the whole gun thing whenever you see me," he stated, putting his hands back down to by his sides.

"What do you want?" Eloa asked frostily, gently pulling Dean's arm down with one hand. The demon's eyes followed the movement and a smirk quirked at his lips when the eldest Winchester brother glanced at her warily and she shook her head with a small smile, not taking her eyes off of Crowley. He sighed quietly but replaced the gun into his waistband. Crowley raised his eyebrows at them and pressed his lips together.

"A deal of mine was terminated by my…business partner, as it were, and I find myself needing a new one, or…four perhaps?" he said simply, moving over to one the few chairs and making himself comfortable. "So what do you say?"

"I do not work with hell. I am not my younger brother," Eloa replied haughtily. Balthazar nodded abruptly in agreement with her. Sam frowned deeply at the action and ran a hand through his hair. Crowley could practically see the clogs working in his brain thinking over their behaviour. It was rather amusing to see him trying to work out what it meant. He chuckled, his eyes flickering between the other four people before he responded.

"Are you so sure you're not like him? You seem pretty similar to me," he commented, inclining his head ever so slightly towards Dean. Balthazar and the elder Winchester both looked confused at his retort. Meanwhile Sam's eyes widened in realisation as Eloa's narrowed in fury.

" _We trusted you as an ambassador for heaven and you're partying with the occupants of hell,"_ he murmured. Eloa tilted her head slightly to look at Sam in surprise and Crowley gave him an uncertain look at her expression. Dean's reaction was the strongest though; his head snapping round to look at his brother in shock.

"Cas?"

"Bingo. The little angel of Thursday's been a very bad boy," Crowley confirmed. He couldn't help but smirk a little at the elder Winchester's horrified face. The demon wasn't stupid. He had waited to come to the Winchesters and their new angel after all had been revealed about the not-so-sweet young Castiel. So why did Dean look so shocked?

"Holy shit! How far has he fucking gone?" he demanded, clenching his fists in fury

"Do you really want an answer to that question?" Crowley replied snidely.

"Yes, I want a fucking answer!" Dean glared at him, practically hissing at the demon with venom in his tone.

"Fine," the king of the crossroads snapped, tone cold and mocking. "Castiel started working with me to open the gates of purgatory so he could stop heaven's little war by consuming half of its souls. He purposely didn't burn my bones so I lived. He's killed hundreds of 'neutral' angels himself and countless with his army as well as Raphael's and Eloa's armies. He's forcibly claimed, had sex with and enslaved the youngest of the archangels. He freed Lucifer and Michael from their cage; making the devil his second in command, the literal devil on his shoulder, and enslaved the eldest angel in existence to him. He went back on his deal with me, has been lying to you for a _very_ long time and recently had the archangel Raphael assassinated by our friendly neighbourhood fallen angel. Oh, and during all of this had a raging crush on one Dean Winchester. I can't think of anything else on top of that but…you never know, I might have missed something out. Like I said he's been a very naughty angel recently."

"You're not funny," Dean growled.

"No one thinks he's funny," Balthazar agreed, uncharacteristically serious. "And we don't want his help."

"Are you sure about that?" Eloa sighed and turned to Balthazar, wrinkling her nose a little.

"I think we need to talk about this."

"You can't be serious!" Dean said incredulously as Crowley smirked.

"We're not going to work with him Dean," Eloa reassured the human. Crowley's smug smile dropped quickly at that. "We will be discussing whether or not to spare him."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Michael-_

The eldest archangel shifted uncomfortably in his seat on the edge of his and Lucifer's bed. He personally didn't see the point in such a useless bit of furniture but, saying that, he supposed it was preferable to being slammed into a wall whenever Lucifer felt the need to just 'take him' as it were. He cringed at the thought. He hated that Lucifer now had the power to do such things to him and would force pleasure upon him through their bond. Especially now that Lucifer had let up the amount of violence he used against him. Michael wasn't sure why but the younger archangel had stopped beating him, preferring to punish him in more tolerant ways, and was gentler in the way he spoke to him as well. Perhaps it was sick but Michael had preferred it when Lucifer was violent. It was easier to resist the bond when he was. The sound of the door handle turning broke him out of his moment of reflection and he sighed, looking up towards the source of the noise. The door swung open and Lucifer entered, looking rather pleased with himself. Michael looked away again, not wanting to know what was making his brother look so smug.

"I wish you would stop brooding," the fallen one said in greeting, taking off his jacket and throwing it carelessly on the floor. Michael rolled his eyes in contempt.

"Perhaps if I was not forced to submit to your will then it would not be a problem," he replied touchily. Lucifer gave a warning glare but otherwise didn't react to his bad attitude. Michael couldn't help but feel a little irritated at that. Why wouldn't Lucifer just hurt him and in turn fuel his desire to defy him all the more? He honestly didn't understand what had changed since they had first bonded.

"Don't test me Michael. I'm in a good mood and I don't think either of us would want to spoil it," the devil told him with clear intent. Michael sighed, allowing a little sarcasm to seep into his tone.

"Of course not brother. So tell me who you harmed to cause yourself such pleasure this time," he requested cold and unforgiving. Lucifer raised his eyebrows but otherwise didn't outwardly react and Michael couldn't help but wonder where his new found patience was coming from.

"I harmed no one," the younger replied, sitting down on the bed next to him. He reached out and pulled Michael slightly closer to him as he continued. "I do wish you would stop being so persistently…infuriating."

"Is that your way of saying you're annoyed I am following Father's way and not giving in?" the other archangel retorted snidely. Lucifer scoffed and brought his hand up to brush some of Michael's hair out of his eyes before cupping his cheek. Michael looked away quickly, uncomfortable with the intimacy of the gesture, but Lucifer gripped his chin and forced his eyes back to him.

"How many times must I ask you… do you honestly think Father would still want you and me to fight after everything that has passed? He allowed you to be trapped in that cage with me. Surely if he wanted us to cause the apocalypse of this world he would have stopped it," he demanded, his tone firm but gentle. Michael really hated that tone and even more so when he had to admit his brother had a point.

"I believe He would want me to return you to your original punishment at least," the elder replied honestly with a sad but uncertain smile.

"And why?" Lucifer challenged with a sigh. "I'm not doing anything to deserve that sentence. Castiel is trying to save the humans and stop war in heaven and I am only trying to help him. Considering I was intending to wipe them out and that was what lead to my original imprisonment I hardly see why being made to return to it would be fair." Once again he had a good argument and Michael bit his lip as the devil continued. "I know that you didn't want this bond and I understand why you personally would want revenge on me but I want you to think really hard and answer this. Father left heaven and you have been making judgement as you think he would want but now…what verdict would _you_ pass on me, given the choice?" Michael stared at him for a moment before slowly closing his eyes in contemplation, Lucifer letting his hand slide back to cupping his cheek softly. The time passed in silence while he thought and then eventually reopened his eyes. Two pairs of blue met and Michael let out an unsteady breath before shaking his head.

"I would forgive you. I _do_ forgive you brother."


	17. Toxic Valentine

_**A few hours later…** _

_-Balthazar-_

Balthazar couldn't help but feel nervous leading the Winchesters up to the angelic base house owned by Castiel under Jimmy Novak's name. He was well aware of the many flaws in their plan, particularly as in the end the brothers and Eloa had all agreed to spare Crowley for the sake of saving Gabriel quicker. If Crowley decided to try and gain back favour with Castiel by revealing them they were screwed. When they reached the front garden pavement leading to the front door Sam nudged him slightly as they walked and broke him out of his uncomfortable thoughts.

"So this is it?" he asked quietly.

"This is it," Balthazar confirmed giving him a short nod before glancing over his shoulder for a second with a shaky smile. Eloa gave him a small wave of encouragement from her hiding place up in the branches of a nearby tree, magically invisible to everyone but them until she entered the house herself. Then she would have to limit the use of her grace to avoid the magical sensors planted throughout the base. They were carefully attuned to pick out the use of any use of grace by those not in Castiel's army. If she tried to shield herself in there she would be found immediately. Turning back to look at the front door Balthazar took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Let's go visit Castiel then," Dean said wearily as they approached, clearly not wanting to be there all that much. The angel gave him an elbow to the ribs and he rolled his shoulders in understanding. A second later they came to the door, two guards meeting them there with wary expressions.

"General Balthazar," one of them greeted him with a frown. "You brought…visitors?"

"The Winchesters. They insisted on the matter," the blonde replied simply the lie slipping from his mouth as smooth as honey. Sam and Dean both gave the guards pointed looks before glancing up at the house, significantly unimpressed despite it being a lot more visually appealing than the dismal sight of even the nicest of motels they had stayed in.

"I see…" the second angel replied thoughtfully before stepping aside to let them pass albeit looking slightly reluctant. "I am sure Castiel will be pleased to see them." Balthazar gave him a small smirk and brushed past him as the other angel copied his partner's action. The Winchester's followed with matching smug smiles.

"I hope you know what you're doing Balthazar," the first angel called after them as they walked inside. The blonde turned to him with a slight frown, noticing Eloa dropping out of her hiding place and sneaking into one of the open windows while the guards were distracted.

"And I hope you know what you're implying," he said hostilely, eyes flickering between the two soldiers. "Make sure Castiel is informed of our arrival. Immediately."

"Of course… _General_ …" the second replied, the emphasis on the title suggesting anything but respect. It was a common occurrence throughout the whole army, most likely borne from his pervious desertion during the original war and his instant and admittedly suspicious closeness with Castiel but Balthazar didn't care too much anymore. Mainly as now they had the right to be distrustful of him.

"Thank you," he answered sarcastically, giving them a winning smile and turning his back on them so he could lead the Winchester's further inside. He felt their eyes glaring at the back of his head as the front door closed and let out a chuckle.

"They seemed to like you," Dean commented sardonically.

"Yes, Stael and Giles have always adored me," Balthazar told him in a similar tone, glancing around to make sure they were out of earshot of anyone nearby before lowering his voice a little. "Eloa's inside. I saw her go in. If you can distract Castiel for long enough this plan might just work. You're on your own for now though." Dean nodded and the angel could tell he had expected no less.

"When will we see Castiel?" the younger Winchester asked as Balthazar continued to lead them down the corridor towards one of the guest meeting rooms.

"I'm guessing as soon as he knows you're here," he told them with a shrug. "And remember…it's not Castiel, it's Cas. Even the smallest change will be noticeable. Nickname's gotta stay." Sam sighed but inclined his head in agreement.

"Fair enough," he replied with a distasteful look. "As long as this works I don't care."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Castiel-_

Standing beside the large king sized bed, the angel of Thursday smiled down at the sight of his exhausted submissive wrapped warmly in their bed sheets. Gabriel always looked so beautifully obedient after sex and Castiel would have much preferred to be lying naked with the other man clasped tight in his embrace than fully dressed to meet the Winchesters. With a sigh he ran a hand through the archangel's hair and the tired golden eyes opened slowly to look at him. There was a soft emotion in them that Castiel couldn't quite read but he decided it didn't matter as his lover spoke.

"Where are you going?" Gabriel asked quietly as he sat up a little rubbing his eyes. The younger angel continued playing with his mate's hair for a moment before brushing it out of his eyes.

"I have visitors that I need to see immediately," he explained carefully. He didn't want Gabriel to know who he was seeing quite yet in case it spurred a relapse in the bond. He had felt a few moments of doubt through it over the past few weeks and knew that Gabriel's devotion was beginning to shake under the new pressure of Michael's disobedient presence. He shook his head a little to clear his head and gently trailed his fingers down Gabriel's cheek. "Stay here and rest until I return for you." Gabriel smiled at him, bringing one of his own hands up to link with Castiel's for a moment.

"In bed?" his submissive murmured and Castiel tilted his head to one side in contemplation squeezing Gabriel's hand mildly as he did.

"No but in this room at least my love," he decided drawing his hand away and pressing a kiss to the archangel's forehead. He stepped away then, as an afterthought, added. "Only Michael and Lucifer may enter this room while I am gone. As always."

"Of course," Gabriel replied looking up at him as he headed to the door. Castiel looked over his shoulder at the other then and smirked, eyes scrutinising Gabriel for a second and a growing sensation of lust sparking in his gut. He mentally shook it off, opening the door and stepping outside. He would have to wait for another round later. He wasn't sure quite what Balthazar was playing at by bringing Sam and Dean to the house but he had to deal with them before he could take more pleasure from Gabriel. He carefully shut the door behind him, stealing one last glance at his mate before he did as Gabriel obediently lay back down under the covers and reclosed his eyes. Castiel bit his lip slightly at the sight and turned away from the now closed door, checking the various security measures he had already had placed around it, and started to make his way to where he knew the Winchesters would be waiting. He was definitely not pleased that he had to see them at the base. A few minutes later he arrived at the meeting room and took a deep breath, getting into the character he knew the brothers would be expecting before entering. The two Winchesters looked to him from their seats on a black leather sofa as he came in, grim expressions on their faces. He frowned and made his way towards them, sitting in the armchair opposite.

"Sam, Dean, what is wrong?"

"Hey Cas," Dean greeted with a small, barely there smile. "We need to talk."

"I would expect no less with you being here of all places," he replied, refraining the urge to roll his eyes at them. "What is the problem?"

"We think that we know what Raphael's next game plan is," Sam said sullenly running a hand through his hair.

"You do?" Castiel asked slowly well aware that Raphael couldn't have a 'game plan' when he was already dead and gone. "And what is that?"

"We think he might be trying to open purgatory. A demon we caught up with and killed said that one of the sides of the war was and Eloa, apparently you know her, said that it was probably Raphael," Dean explained. Castiel frowned slightly, relieved but surprised Eloa hadn't yet turned his two friends against him by revealing his actions.

"I see," he said uncomfortably deciding to reveal a bit of truth in order to keep them from getting suspicious. "Well, that isn't possible. The war with Raphael is over. He is dead."

"Dead?" Sam repeated. "So who's trying to open purgatory?"

"There is a third faction in this war. Angels who wish to have free will but refuse to acknowledge my army due to my fall," Castiel replied, twisting the truth ever so slightly. "I do not know who but they are but they are smart and their army strong. If they open purgatory…I will be killed."

"So what should we do?"

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Michael-_

The eldest archangel stood awkwardly outside the door to Gabriel and Castiel's bedroom, Lucifer's words from an hour ago still ringing in his ears. _"How many times must I ask you… do you honestly think Father would still want you and me to fight after everything that has passed?"_ The words seemed like a stuck record in his mind, repeating over and over incessantly, because what if his brother was right? Their Father had been silent for so long that it wouldn't be all that surprising if He had changed his mind. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he knocked on the door hoping that what he had hear was true and Castiel was in a meeting. There was some scuffling inside the room and he heard someone moving the peep hole behind the door to look through it. A second later he heard the door handle begin to turn and he stepped back to give the room's occupant some space. The door opened and Gabriel stood in the doorway with a small smile on his face, dressed in a pair of jeans and what looked like one of Castiel's shirts with the way it swamped him.

"Michael, come in," he greeted, stepping aside to let him in. The elder angel nodded in thanks and walked into the room. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I- I needed to talk to you…" he told his brother shakily. Gabriel's golden eyes widened and filled with uncertainty as Michael took seat on one of the chairs by the dresser and ran a hand through his hair. The younger angel mirrored his action, sitting on the edge of the bed with a distressed expression on his features.

"What is it Michael? What has Lucifer done?"

"Nothing!" Michael replied quickly. "It's just…after everything that's happened I keep wondering if maybe I've been doing everything wrong since Father left."

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked with a frown, looking worried.

"I've been trying so hard to do what I thought He would want of me. I've done so many things that could be considered wrong because I thought it would lead me to what He wanted, maybe even Him. Yet after this; going to the cage, being claimed by Lucifer and Lucifer working with Castiel, I just don't know," Michael explained, staring at the floor desolately. "What if everything I've been doing is actually accidental disobedience?" Gabriel was shaking his head in disagreement even before his brother had finished speaking.

"Perhaps you did some things that were wrong but you always did it in faith to Father," he argued with a sad smile. There was silence between them for a moment, not quite uncomfortable but not contented either. Eventually Michael broke it with a nervous question both dreading and rather impatient of the answer.

"Do you think Father would have wanted me to fight Lucifer?"

"And cause the apocalypse?" Gabriel added. "Honestly? No. No I don't. Father loves all of his creations and even if he's left us we know that. He wouldn't want the humans to die for one fight between angels." Michael swallowed at that. It was the answer he hadn't wanted to hear; confirmation of his failure because, instinctively, as their Father's messenger Gabriel would always know God's will and now Michael would always know he had been wrong. The eldest of the archangel's stood up quickly and Gabriel copied him with a frown. "Michael? What's wrong?"

"Thank you Gabriel," he murmured quietly, lost in his thoughts. "I need to go now."

"What? Wait!" the other angel protested grabbing his arm quickly to stop him from leaving. "What's going on? You're scaring me!"

"It's nothing," he reassured him, giving him a wry smile before telling Gabriel the first lie he had ever told his younger brother in all his life. "Lucifer's calling me. I best not keep him waiting." Gabriel licked his lips nervously but nodded, letting him go and stepping back.

"You would tell me if something else was wrong, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," Michael comforted him, ruffling his hair a little to make him feel at ease. Gabriel smiled a little then batting his hand away. Michael opened the door with his other hand, stepping out of the room as Gabriel replied.

"You better."

"See you later Gabriel," the elder said with a flicker of a smirk at his sibling's disapproval despite his sadness.

"Yeah, don't do anything I wouldn't," Gabriel joked weakly. Michael's smile dropped quickly at that but he nodded before leaving the room completely sparing only one quick glance back at his brother's worried face before closing the door and steeling himself for what he was about to do. Closing his eyes for a moment he reached for the bond for the first time since it had been formed and started sensing for his dominant. He found him within seconds and opened his eyes, feet already heading towards where Lucifer was. A minute later he was standing beside him while he shouted at a soldier about something. The younger archangel's eyes flickered to him in confusion for a moment but he pulled him close to him by the waist anyway, glaring at the soldier for a moment before dismissing him. The angel scrambled away quickly looking terrified and Lucifer turned to Michael with a worried expression.

"What's wrong brother?" he asked gently and Michael closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again to stare into Lucifer's own. "Michael? Tell me."

"He never wanted us to cause the apocalypse," Michael whispered shakily. "Father…he didn't want us to fight." Lucifer frowned hesitantly taking the elder angel's face in his hands.

"Michael-" he began carefully.

"No," Michael interrupted, breathing a little faster in his anxiety regardless of him having no need to breath. "Don't _say_ anything. Just…" He hesitated for a moment before giving him a small smile. "Just stop." Lucifer let out a confused huff and opened his mouth to speak again but Michael surged forward suddenly capturing his dominant's lips with his own in a soft kiss. Lucifer froze for a moment and Michael couldn't help but tense a little, expecting to be thrown off but needing not to be. He needed his brother to accept his kiss, accept this as his apology, and accept _him_. His worry was short-lived, however, as Lucifer got over his shock and pulled him closer, devouring his mouth with unyielding intensity and only breaking away when they were both breathless and Michael could feel bruising on his vessel's lips.

"Michael, what-"

"I'm sorry Lucifer. I'm so sorry," he murmured, cutting across him once again and pressing their foreheads together gently. Slowly a smile pulled at Lucifer's lips before he chuckled breathlessly.

"Are you seriously apologising to me right now? After that?"

"Yes, I've done so much wrong. To you and to the humans. At least let me make this right. _Please_ ," the elder pleaded, body sagging helplessly into his brother's arms.

"What do you mean?" Lucifer asked carefully.

"I'm yours Lucifer. Yours."


	18. Time Bomb

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Sam-_

Glancing at his watch Sam bit his lip. It had been half an hour – the allotted time Eloa had requested before he leave Castiel's distraction in the hands of Dean. He had to admit it was probably best that he left the angel's presence pretty soon. He was finding it difficult to pretend he had anything but contempt for Castiel and hide how much he truly hated him after everything they had been told. If he was being honest with himself, Sam had to admit that his main problem was what Castiel had done to Gabriel. Even when he had only known Gabriel as the trickster Sam had felt oddly possessive of him; always thought of him as his hunt and, when they knew who he actually was, his angelic contact. He wasn't sure where the feelings had come from exactly but they had always been there and underlying all his actions when he came to the archangel turned pagan trickster. Currently he was furious that Castiel had even thought to touch Gabriel in that way let alone go this far. A sudden nudge from Dean broke him out of his thoughts and his elder brother gave him a pointed look that told him he needed to get on with the plan. Now.

"Hey Cas, this place got a bathroom I can use?" Sam asked with a small force smile, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. The angel gave him a confused look but nodded before giving him some basic directions. He pretended to listen and, when he had finished, Sam and thanked him, excusing himself. He shared a nervous glace with Dean before he left, unnoticed by Castiel, then let out a sigh. Readying himself to find Gabriel he thought back to the half listened to instructions for a second. Castiel had told him to turn right down the corridor after leaving the room which probably led him right away from the archangel in less than a second. Wordlessly he turned left and started speed walking down the hallway. He only had a limited amount of time to do this after all, even if he used the excuse that he'd taken a wrong turning. He didn't see any angels on his way which was suspicious in itself but he couldn't really bring himself to care. He glanced at his watch again – five minutes since he last checked, probably three since he had left Castiel and Dean. He needed to hurry up. Hell, he didn't even know what he was looking for.

After another minute of walking he cursed under his breath and clenched his fists. "This is fucking bullshit," he muttered angrily as he walked, eyes flickering to look for anything that would lead him to Gabriel's whereabouts. A little way ahead of him a door opened and he ducked behind a nearby bookcase instinctively to hide. It wouldn't do to get caught now. He watched from behind it carefully, biting his lip. A familiar figure was standing in the doorway of the room and he held back a gasp. Adam. Well, Michael now but in Adam's form. The archangel seemed to be talking to someone inside and Sam strained his ears to listen hopefully.

"Of course," Michael told the other person in a comforting tone. Another voice, quieter and somehow both soft and a warning replied and Sam could have sworn it was Gabriel.

"You better."

"See you later Gabriel," Michael said with a forced-looking smirk on his face, confirming Sam's speculation. The Winchester smiled a little at that. Now all he had to hope was that Eloa had managed to do her part in the plan without getting caught herself. He watched as Michael closed the door, not hearing what Gabriel said in reply but not too worried about the conversation either. The eldest of the archangels hesitated for a moment before walking away, luckily in the opposite direction to Sam's hiding place, and Sam waited for him to be completely out of sight before slipping over to the door and attempting the handle. It was locked but no alarms sounded when he touched it, suggesting that Eloa had done her job. A familiar voice called from behind the door when he let go, frustrated, and the door began to unlock quickly.

"Did you forget to tell me something Michael?" Gabriel's voice asked just before the door swung open. "I mean, you seemed- _Sam_?" The brunette stared at the archangel in the doorway, a relieved and close to overjoyed smile breaking across his face at the sight of the angelic trickster god.

"Thank God I finally found you," he said suddenly breathless as he thoughtlessly pulled the archangel into a bone crushing hug. Gabriel froze in his grip seeming too shocked to react and after a moment Sam let him go, taking in his appearance properly and biting his lip. The archangel wasn't clad in his usual clothes; although he was still wearing jeans the usual t-shirt, shirt and jacket combination was gone and replaced with a simple white baggy shirt, clearly one of Castiel's. He only just managed to hold his anger back at the sight. It was like Castiel was still all over the archangel even without being there.

"What are you doing here Sam, if you're even Sam?" Gabriel asked, stepping aside to let him in. It wasn't exactly the welcome he was expecting but Sam decided to take it and went inside. He still didn't know the extent of the damage that Castiel had done and didn't want to make it worse.

"It's definitely me Gabe," he assured. "Hey, if I was Dean I'd probably be making some line about copying perfection but…y'know I'm not." Gabriel was silent for a moment then he grinned. Sam let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in relief.

"Only you, Sam Winchester, would bring your brother up when rescuing the equivalent of a damsel in distress," Gabriel scoffed. "So…what's the plan?"

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**At the same time…** _

_-Eloa-_

She had thought it would be easy and it definitely had been at first. Disgustingly so. Sneaking into the house had been a stress-free exercise with Balthazar helpfully distracting the two guards at the front door and she hadn't come across anyone patrolling or defending anything in particular since then. In fact, she had been able to follow Balthazar's directions to the control room openly and yet still undetected by any soldiers. Considering Castiel was so protective of what he saw as his possession, namely Gabriel, she was shocked by his lack of security.

It hadn't taken her long to get to the control room and disabling the human alarms had been surprisingly simple even though they had been infused with a slight amount of grace. Eloa supposed it was for recognition of those Castiel permitted to visit Gabriel. The angelic alert system was more of a problem though as she couldn't use much of her grace. In fact it was preferable that she didn't use it at all really – she didn't know how sensitive Castiel's sensors were. It would be a risk. One she had to take. Tentatively she let the barest amount of grace brush through her fingers and into the controls, flipping the grace-magic switches that infused the rooms with their shielding properties. It seemed to work and she sighed in relief, stepping away from the console with a small smile. Now all she had to do was wait until Sam rang her to signal Gabriel was clear of the house then ramp up the security again so Castiel wouldn't suspect anything until they were all long gone. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts and relief that she didn't notice the angel based on the security controls had returned until he cleared his throat, blade poised in his hand.

"What do you think you're doing here?" he asked dangerously. It took her a moment to realise he didn't know who she was and tried to use it in her favour shrugging at him.

"Why did you leave your post? Castiel would not be pleased to hear of such disregard for your duties," she replied haughtily. "Anyone could just wonder in here and try and change things. Security is an important matter as I'm sure you know." The guard's eyes widened a little at her words and he lowered his knife a little.

"Of course…are you one of General Balthazar's team? I'm sorry if…"

"It doesn't matter," Eloa replied pleased that her ploy was working but unsure as to how she was going put the security back up when she needed to without him noticing. "I'm just here to check the security around the archangel Michael for Lucifer. You know how the Morning Star gets when it comes to his mate." The soldier's brow furrowed and he gave her a confused look.

"Michael is with General Lucifer in the training room…why would he-" he began before cutting himself off with a panicked expression on his face. "Wait…I know you. You're Eloa! The leader of the other army! What are you doing here?" Eloa cursed under her breath as raised his blade once more, her own blade materialising in her hand. There was no point in hiding her grace now. She'd already been caught.

"Look, we can do this the easy way…or you can die. Which is it gonna be?" she asked threateningly, her eyes flashing in warning. The other angel stared at her for a moment before lunging forward to the console, catching her off guard and throwing her across the room and into the closest wall. She jumped up immediately, readying herself for battle just in time to see the soldier put all the security back up. She charged forward desperately but it was already too late. A shrill alarm sounded almost as high as the screech of Enochian. The soldier laughed coldly.

"What was that about dying?" he requested mockingly. She turned to look at him with furious eyes, stabbing him straight in his grace without a word of warning. His smug expression broke into one of shock as his grace was shredded and he fell lifelessly to the floor.

"Go to hell."


	19. Haunted

_**At that moment…** _

_-Sam-_

He was just coaxing Gabriel, who was surprisingly reluctant, out of the room when it happened. It was like a huge rush of heat came over him and left him almost breathless, like he'd just been choked by an invisible force. Then the alarm began. Sam didn't know what had happened but he could guess. Eloa had been caught and Sam needed to get Gabriel out of the house. Fast. Ignoring the need to be gentle in his urgency he tugged on Gabriel's arm, pulling him out of the bedroom just before a blue tinge appeared in the doorway. Sam didn't doubt what it was for even a second - a shield to trap whoever was inside.

"Come on," he told the youngest of the archangels, steering him away from the door and along the corridor he had come from originally. The house was huge and Sam only knew one way out. He doubted that Gabriel knew any.

"He knows," the angel told him with a small whimper. "I need to go back. It'll be okay if I go back! And you need to get anyone who's working with you out of here. Where's Dean? Please tell me Dean isn't with him right now!" Sam bit his lip but didn't reply, speeding up a little at the thought of his elder brother. Gabriel stopped suddenly bringing him to an abrupt halt. "Sam! If Castiel's with Dean…"

"You are not going back to that room where he can force you into whatever he wants! Dean can take care of himself," Sam growled, not really believing the last part but knowing he had no choice. Their aim right now was to get Gabriel to safety. Sam could only hope Balthazar was going to help Dean or that Eloa could get to him in time.

"But-"

"Shut up Gabe!" he half shouted guilt spreading through him when the archangel flinched a little at his anger, falling silent immediately. "Come on, we need to get out of here and get you somewhere safe," he added in a softer tone, moving his grip down from Gabriel's arm to his hand and squeezing the archangel's fingers gently with his own. Gabriel was unresponsive for a second then nodded quickly and returned the slight pressure with a nervous smile. The expression made Sam feel rather uneasy but he couldn't quite place why.

"Okay."

"You know, you really shouldn't be touching Castiel's mate. No one touches his mate but him," a snide voice warned from ahead of them. Sam looked up to the speaker, eyes blazing in fury at the spiteful tone. Five angels stood blocking their path with one of them, presumably the leader as he was the one who spoke, standing a little in front of the others.

"That's only because you're all a bunch of pussy-whipped cowards who were too scared of him to face the consequences," Gabriel cut in before Sam could reply, mocking in his voice. The four angels who had not said anything all gasped at his words, sharing shocked looks. Sam frowned at them in confusion before looking back to Gabriel noticing that despite his confident words his golden eyes were blown wide and shining with fear. The grip on his hand had also become looser, as if Gabriel was trying to pull away from him. "Face it Welt. You're terrified of the big bad Castiel."

"If you were not Castiel's mate you would pay for that insult," Welt growled back, taking a threatening step forward. "Now, Sam Winchester, let go of the archangel and we may let you go unharmed." Sam saw Gabriel rolled his eyes in a false attempt at bravo in the corner of his vision and shook his head with a humourless smile, unable to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach that all but screamed that maybe Gabriel was just too good of an actor when Gabriel's hand slipped out of his.

"I'm not giving him back to that rapist son of a bitch," he hissed, grabbing Gabriel's hand again and gripping it little tighter to comfort himself. "Now let us pass."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Welt told him, sounding almost amused as he and the other four angels all manifested their blades. "How do you suppose to get past us alive anyway?" Sam licked his lips nervously. He knew that Welt had a point and he only had two choices in that moment; he could run the other way, possibly getting lost in the house whilst doing so, or he could fight and possibly die. Neither of them boded well for either him or Gabriel and both of them were more likely to lead to failure than success.

"Sam," Gabriel murmured slowly, loosening the grip between their hands again. Sam shook his head, knowing what he was suggesting for the second time in the space of three short minutes.

"No," he insisted.

"Sam please. I'm not worth it," the archangel pleaded, trying to pull his hand away for the countless time when Sam only held on to it tighter.

"You're worth it to me," he countered, voice rough and catching a little at the honesty of it all. Gabriel swallowed and glanced to the group of menacing angels then back to him with a small smile.

"You really think so?"

"Why do you think I'm here?" the human asked quietly, wishing that they didn't have to talk about it now in this situation. Gabriel took a deep breath and gave him a weak grin, grip on his hand returning in full force.

"Damn Winchesters and their stubborn ways eh?" Sam let out a feeble and forced chuckle, nodding a little. "Right…this is going to hurt." Sam's expression turned even more serious.

"What? Gabriel…" The archangel smiled at him for a second then shook his head, a bright light forming in the hand not holding Sam's own. "Gabriel, what are you doing?" Gabriel just shook his head again, the light growing even more. As if only just realising what he was doing Welt and his team moved forward but Gabriel was too fast and they were clearly way too late in their attack.

"Been a while since anyone but Castiel has used my grace," the archangel muttered before the light suddenly seemed to explode, flying towards the angelic threat just metres away from them with blinding intensity. Sam gasped pulling Gabriel towards him instinctively to protect him until the light faded once more. As soon as it had Sam looked towards the group of angels that had been blocking them. They were all lying unconscious on the floor, not dead because Sam couldn't see any outline of wings, just unconscious. A small smile tugged at his lips and he went to congratulate and thank Gabriel when the shorter man slumped forward into his arms, just as unconscious as the others.

"Gabriel…"

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Dean-_

As soon as the alarm began he knew he was screwed. He probably had about thirty seconds before Castiel knew why the alarm was sounding and forty until the angel worked out exactly how it had come to be. As if on cue, two angels crashed into the meetings room looking panicked. Castiel had already jumped to his feet and walked over to them in less than a second with a furious expression on his face.

"What's going on?" he demanded, features twisted in dark fury. Dean instinctively knew that if he hadn't known something was wrong about Castiel before he would have known upon seeing that expression. It was cold, cruel and terrifying. The first angel glanced at Dean nervously. "Sabin, quit gawking and explain!" The angel flinched back slightly and nodded.

"The security console has been breached by an unknown enemy but systems are now back online," she told him fearfully, words coming out as fast as possible.

"And the alarms, Darnel?"

"Someone has managed to remove your mate from his room," the second angel, Darnel, replied calmer than her partner. "We have already sent out attack teams to stop them."

"Them?" Castiel repeated dangerously. Dean felt a shiver roll down his spine and he glanced at the door wretchedly. The three angels were stood in front of it so there was no way he could escape undetected. He was trapped.

"Your mate is leaving willingly sir," Sabin informed him nervously.

"With who?" Castiel growled and Dean could see his fists clenching and unclenching in an attempt to control his anger. Darnel bit her bottom lip and glanced at Dean for a moment, catching his eye with a sorrowful expression.

"Sam Winchester."

"Samuel?" Castiel repeated, sounding shocked as he spared his own glance at Dean. "But…" he hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "No matter…go join the attack teams and retrieve my mate."

"Orders for the boy sir?" Sabin asked carefully, refusing to look at Dean. The eldest Winchester tensed waiting for Castiel's reply knowing that this was the moment where Castiel would define himself in his eyes. If he answered mercifully then Dean knew he could still be saved despite all he had done. If he didn't, Dean didn't want to think about it. There was a tense moment of silence between them before Castiel clicked his tongue.

"Gabriel leaves with him willingly due to love for him…a thorn in my side for far too long," he murmured and Dean could tell it was more to himself than anyone else. He wouldn't be surprised if Castiel had forgotten he was there; after all, he had just mentioned Gabriel by name. A sick feeling grew in his stomach at the thought. Just how far was Castiel going to go with this? A second later he got his answer as Castiel addressed his soldiers properly. "Kill him."

"No!" Dean shouted, standing up in anger and realising a second too late that it was foolish to have reacted in anger - it only served to draw more attention to his vulnerable state in less time. The two female angels ignored him, saluting Castiel and leaving without a word. Moments later Castiel turned to him with a sneer.

"So you betrayed me?" he asked coldly, blue eyes stormy with rage and cruelty as he took a menacing step towards him. "I'm presuming you were my distraction in this plan of yours, were you not? All so your brother could steal what is rightfully mine away from me?" Dean matched his step in the opposite direction, backing away from the person he had once thought of as his closest friend.

"Gabriel isn't a possession Cas. He's a person and he has feelings. He doesn't want to be with you," he replied shakily.

"Who are you to tell me what Gabriel wants?" the angel growled back at him, taking another few steps forward that Dean matched equally back in attempt to keep the distance between them. "You're nothing but a human. A broken and unneeded vessel that I was ordered to bring up from hell that causes more trouble than anything else. Not to mention your pathetic attachment to your thieving blood addicted brother who constantly gets in the way of everything. You know nothing about Gabriel's wants and needs, of how he begs me to make love to him in the dead of the night. I have a bond with him that you could never understand in your wildest dreams and I will not allow that to be ripped away by your dirty abomination of a brother!" Dean swallowed painfully, shaking his head at the speech and forcing down the bile in his throat. He had never seen Castiel like this, not even when the angel beat him up for trying to say yes to Michael.

"Look," he said desperately. "I know you're not yourself right now. Eloa explained all about angelic sins and I need you to listen to me and see that what you're doing is wrong. Yeah, so I may be human but it doesn't take angelic grace for me to know that if Gabe is leaving with Sam he doesn't want to be with you. You're hurting him by making him stay, don't you see how that's wrong Cas? Please tell me you know it's wrong."

"Gabriel just needs reminding of whom he belongs to," Castiel snapped back fiercely. "And perhaps you need to remember just where your loyalties should lie Dean Winchester." He took another set of steps forward, closing in on the humans and Dean repeated his previous actions, cursing when his back hit the wall. In a flash Castiel was in front of him, pinning him roughly to the plaster and forcing his arms above his head with one hand. Dean looked away from him pointedly, jaw set in determination. "Certainly, they don't lie with _Eloa_ of all people. A pathetic excuse of an angel with no consideration of the boundaries of ownership and bonds."

"Cas, listen to me," he said through clenched teeth, losing his temper and patience in his vulnerability and struggling in the angel's grip. Castiel scoffed, seemingly unaffected by his fighting, and his free hand grabbed Dean's chin and he forced it up so Dean was looking at him before letting go. Dean didn't look away, glaring at him.

"No, you listen to me. I've told you before Dean. I dragged you out of hell and I can throw you back in," Castiel threatened before clicking the fingers of his free hand. For a second Dean was darkly reminded of Gabriel but his thoughts were waylaid by the fact that his jacket and over-shirt both disappeared leaving only his white t-shirt. He stared at Castiel in confusion until he continued coolly. "Because we both know what this mark on your shoulder means Dean." A burning pain flared in the mentioned scar as the angel pressed his hand against it with a smirk and Dean couldn't hold back the agonised gasp it caused. "It means you belong to me just as much as Gabriel does and, really, now the only thing that stops me from having you both is Sam. In fact, seen as my army is getting rid of him as we speak…maybe we should have a little fun and make sure you never betray me again." Dean eyes widened in shock at that and he struggled even more, putting all his strength into getting away in vain. Castiel chuckled, ripping his t-shirt off of him roughly and throwing the shreds of it carelessly on the floor.

"Cas, you have to stop this," Dean pleaded helplessly telling himself that this couldn't be happening because there was no way Cas would ever try and make him do anything like this in a million years no matter how dark he'd become.

"What if I don't want to stop?" Castiel hissed in his ear, popping the button on his captive's jeans roughly and tugging down the zipper. Dean mentally cursed himself for going commando, knowing it would only make it that much easier for the angel. "Do know what I'm going to do to you Dean?" A harsh squeeze to the bare flesh of his groin caused Dean to groan loudly in pain, shaking his head in denial. This couldn't be happening he repeated to himself helplessly as Castiel carried on. "I'm going to fuck you Dean, force an orgasm out of you as you scream my name and beg for more. And if I don't get that today? I'll fuck you every day until I do. Until it doesn't matter what anyone else other than me wants. Until you're just my little plaything, begging on your knees for me every hour of _every day_ for the rest of your life." Dean let out a small sob, feeling sick to the stomach at the angel's words, when suddenly Castiel was pulled away from him and thrown across the room. He sagged against the wall in relief, automatically rushing to do his jeans back up to protect what little dignity he had left. His saviour stood in front of him, facing Castiel as he stood up, glowing brightly in angelic fury.

"Over my dead body," she growled, blade manifesting in her hand. Castiel smirked as he regained his footing, eyes flashing at the challenge.

"Eloa…well that can certainly be arranged."


	20. Breakout

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Sam-_

Even though Gabriel had a small vessel when unconscious the archangel wasn't all that light which both surprised and irritated Sam a bit. Although in all honesty it wasn't his weight that was the problem, but the fact Sam just didn't feel all that comfortable putting him in a fireman's lift so had resolved to carry him bridal style instead. It just meant that rushing through the house's many corridors was a bit more difficult and a little more awkward. Turning another corner, Sam let out a small groan, adjusting his grip on Gabriel slightly before looking around. He was sure that he had been in this particular hallway before but he couldn't be sure. Most of the passages looked the same to him anyway. This house was like a maze – the perfect prison. He bit his lip and turned the next right hand corner hopefully only to run into even worse luck. An unfamiliar man stood in his path with a dark smirk on his face.

"Well look here, I think I found me some runaways," he commented nastily as he looked Sam up and down. "You know, it's really not nice to kidnap people Sam." Surprised by the use of his name and wary of the stranger the Winchester stepped back. "Now, now, don't try and run from me Sammy. We both know that didn't work last time."

"Last time?" Sam asked without thinking, taking another step back despite the man's warning. The stranger chuckled and raised his eyebrows.

"You don't recognise me Sammy? I'm hurt."

"It's Sam and right now I don't really give a damn who you are unless you're gonna let me past!" he exclaimed, trying to push past him without hurting Gabriel. The man stopped him, also careful not to hurt the archangel.

"No can do Sammy boy, and I'm rather shocked. I thought we'd got to know each other so well in the cage," he replied with a smug smirk. "Now give me my brother."

"Lucifer…" Sam realised, jerking back a few more steps. "I'm not giving you anything you sick son of a bitch."

"Well, that's not a nice greeting to an old prison mate now is it?" Lucifer said swiftly, looking amused at his reaction. "Now listen to me. Considering you have nothing to fight me with you're kinda out of options, don'tcha think? Best to hand over Gabriel and…run."

"I'm not going to give him up to that vile bastard and I'm definitely not gonna hand him over to you either," Sam hissed, tightening his grip on the unconscious archangel.

"You're going to have to let him go to fight me anyway Sam. Let's face it. You can't outrun an archangel. It's not even worth trying." Sam knew that Lucifer had a point. There wasn't anything he could do. Against a normal angel he might have stood a chance but Lucifer was no normal angel. Looking down at Gabriel unconscious in his arms the human let out a soft sigh, knowing that this rescue was practically a death sentence for him now.

"Let me put him down safely and we'll fight," he told the devil after a moment, pressing a kiss to Gabriel's forehead. He would have preferred to have been able to tell Gabriel how he felt, even though it was only now he truly realised it himself, but he knew it wasn't going to be possible. Not unless some sort of miracle happened. He gently laid the youngest of the archangel's down on the floor when Lucifer nodded slowly making sure he was in a place when he was less likely to be stepped on.

"You know this is suicidal and yet…you would give up your life rather than desert him?" Lucifer asked thoughtfully when he stood up again. Sam frowned at his tone uncertainly.

"Of course I would. He doesn't deserve this."

"You know if this were a different situation and you'd done that…I would probably give my blessing to you rather than kill you right now," the devil said with an almost sad smile. Sam's eyes widened a little as the angel stared at him. "But…" His expression returned to its usual mocking smirk in less than a second. "It's not so I guess this is the point where I kill you."

"I guess," Sam agreed, attempting to ready himself for the fight he knew he would inevitably lose. An unfamiliar blade manifested in Lucifer's hand as he spoke; silver but with gold engravings on the handle. Sam looked at it curiously for a second and Lucifer grinned at him.

"I must admit it's rather fitting; my vessel dying on my elder brother's blade."

"That's Michael's blade?" Sam asked, the words slipping out in his surprise even as he tensed in preparation. Lucifer let out a short laugh.

"Yes. I had to take it from him by force at first but now he gives it to me willingly. Like many other things."

"You sick bastard," Sam snarled guessing that Lucifer was gloating over the fact that he had somehow made Michael give in.

"Hmmmm, maybe a little," Lucifer replied. "Now, let's get this show on the road shall we?" Without any other word of warning he lunged forward, attacking with the blade. Instinctively Sam dodged to one side, pulling the knife from in his boot even though he knew it would be useless against the fallen angel. Lucifer chucked in amusement. "You know that won't work."

"Better than nothing," Sam replied, dodging Lucifer's next attack only by a hair and almost losing his ear in the process. He was surprised that he wasn't using his powers but then again Lucifer had always been one for taunting.

"Of course, you humans and your security blankets."

"You shouldn't generalise like that."

"I only generalise when something is true," Lucifer replied, tripping Sam up as he tried to duck another jab of his blade. On the floor and knowing it was useless but trying anyway Sam threw his knife hand up to parry the killing blow that followed, expecting it to be useless. The clang of metal on metal proved him wrong and he blinked in shock, looking up at their clashing blades. Only it wasn't his worn out knife he was holding anymore but a blade of sparkling silver similar to Lucifer's locked in combat.

"What the-"

"Sam!" a familiar voice broke him out of his shock and Lucifer snarled above him, turning to face the new arrival crouched beside Gabriel.

"Balthazar, stay out of this!"

"Screw you Lucifer!" the blonde angel yelled back. "Sam hurry!" The Winchester blinked then scrambled forward, the blade mystery currently forgotten, just in time to avoid Lucifer whirling back around to attack. The fallen archangel over balanced, only just saving himself from falling and rounded on them just as Sam reached Gabriel and Balthazar.

"You filthy little traitor!" Lucifer shrieked, charging towards them. Balthazar grabbed Sam's shoulder as he did, instructing him to keep a tight grip on Gabriel. Sam nodded and did so without hesitation before the familiar sensation of angelic flight took over and Balthazar got them the hell out of there.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Castiel-_

Anger coursed through his grace like wildfire; a mixture of fury and potent hatred flaring out at the brunette angel in front of him. How dare she thwart another one of his plans and stop him from doing what he rightfully could. Dean belonged to him as much as Gabriel did. Both of them tied to his grace and meant to be subservient to his will.

"So they were working with you?" he snarled hatefully as they began to circle each other, both waiting for the other to attack. "All this time?" Eloa shook her head with a sad smile.

"No. Not until after your little goose chase with Raphael."

"And then you told them like a scared and immature child?" Castiel asked nastily. "All broken and bruised from one little fight with Lucifer?"

"We found out ourselves," Dean cut in quietly from in the corner. Castiel's eyes flashed to him for a moment, lingering on the scar on his shoulder that marked him as Castiel's alone. Dean glared back at him in disgust but Castiel didn't care about the emotion behind it. It wouldn't matter when Sam and Eloa were both dead.

"How?"

"A DVD from the wacko world," the human replied coldly. "A trailer that showed you freeing Lucifer from the cage."

"Your own cruel elaborate plans let you down," Eloa added. She didn't sound smug, only sad, but it still fired the fury in Castiel's gut that she of all people was trying to take some sort of moral high ground.

"You call me cruel?" he scoffed, looking her up and down in scorn. "After all that you have done in the past? Think of the angels you sent here that died by my hand because you wanted to tear my mate from me, the way you have turned my friends against me one by one for your own personal gain." Eloa shook her head in disagreement.

"You did this yourself Castiel. You embraced your dark and this is what has become of it."

"Then you shall die in denial!" the male angel growled before launching into a ferocious attack on her and allowing his anger at her strengthen him all the more. He thought of her betrayal as his second in command who deserted him for working with the king of hell to save them all. He thought of her interference; thwarting his plans left, right and centre in the war, with his mate and with the Winchesters. Yet mostly he thought of her self-righteous nature and, that after all she had done, she could still argue that what she was attempting to do what was right. Eloa blocked his attacks swiftly but Castiel could see she was only half focused on the fight. She kept glancing at Dean anxiously. As if worried he might disappear if she let him get out of her sight. Using this to his advantage he ducked one of her counter attacks and moved to block her view of the human with a smirk. She blinked looking dazed at his sudden change in tactics before gather herself.

"Is that supposed to confuse me?" she taunted but Castiel could tell her heart wasn't in it.

"You could say that," he mocked slicing his blade down in an arc and when that was blocked kicking her hard in the stomach. She doubled over for a second and he took a killing shot, disappointed when she managed to dodge it and he only cut her arm. "Or perhaps it's to distract you that bit more." Eloa's eyes flickered to just behind him at Dean before he stepped in the way of her sight once more. He couldn't help but feel a flare of anger that she dared to look at his human like that. No one protected Dean but him.

"Fighting dirty I see," she commented coolly with a swift series of short attacks. Castiel blocked them expertly with a chuckle.

"Why? You can't fight properly without him in your sight? That's sweet."

"It's more of a protective thing," she hissed back, blocking his newest round of violence. "You used to do it yourself before this madness. Not that I expect you to do that or even understand that anymore. I just don't want any of your little minions carting him off. I wouldn't put it past you." Castiel shook his head a little almost amused at her argument.

"On the contrary I think I know more of protection than you."

"Of course," Eloa replied sarcastically. "Because locking someone away is the same as protecting them."

"Gabriel was a special-" he cut himself off mid-sentence upon mentioning Gabriel, a sharp tug pulling at his grace. "Gabriel…" He couldn't sense him inside. The archangel wasn't in the house. Someone had managed to take him, had stolen what was his. His eyes flashed angrily and, Eloa momentarily forgotten, he dropped his blade.

"Castiel?" she questioned, lowering her blade. Too noble to attack an unarmed man, Castiel thought scornfully as he broadened his senses. He needed to find Gabriel and putting his energy into the bond to find him was more important than killing Eloa to him right now. He briefly heard Eloa go over to Dean and murmur something. Realising what she was about to do he snapped out of his stupor; grabbing at Dean's arm a second too late as Eloa flew them away. Without thinking he let out a screech of anger - in one fell swoop Castiel had lost everything he held dear; his mate, his best friend and the death of his enemy.

And someone was going to pay.


	21. Iris

_**A few minutes later…** _

_-Dean-_

He was pretty sure that it didn't matter but Dean was pretty sure they hadn't landed at Bobby's house. In fact he was certain because there was no room in Bobby's house decorated with bright purple walls. Dean shook his head to clear it and get his bearings. The purple walls stayed which probably meant they were actually there. He looked around carefully, noticing Eloa was nowhere to be seen but not worry too much. The angel could take care of herself. There were two queen sized beds against the opposite wall both with pine wood bed side cabinets and bed spreads to match the walls.

"I know it's not really your cup of tea but Balthazar and I both agreed it was for the best if we didn't go straight back to Bobby Singer's house," a familiar voice explained. Dean jumped a little in shock reaching for his gun until the speaker walked over to in front of him.

"Jesus Christ Eloa, a little warning?" he replied pointedly before making his way over to one of the beds and sitting on the edge. "Where'd you go anyway?"

"To put up warding sigils," she said simply.

"Is Sam alright?"

"Both he and Gabriel made it out relatively unharmed," she informed him while glancing around the brightly painted room. Her gaze moved to him quickly after as she continued. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he told her default answer at the ready as always. She frowned and tilted her head slightly as if she was studying him. She probably was.

"Are you sure? Most people would be traumatized by what just happened to you," she replied carefully. Dean scoffed and shook his head with a small and yet somewhat cocky smile, forced but usually convincing.

"Most people aren't hunters."

"Even hunters have their limits Dean," Eloa said delicately.

"Not this one," he disagreed, smile faltering a little before he looked away. The angel looked down at the floor for a moment then sighed.

"If you insist so be it but if you do need to talk feel free. I'm only a prayer away," she told him already getting up. He turned slightly to look at her with a frown.

"You're not staying?" he asked in surprise. He hadn't thought that she would leave so soon, particularly not after all that had happened. It was almost unsettling how fast she wanted to get away.

"No there is some business I must settle with Balthazar. He revealed himself today to save Gabriel and Sam from Lucifer," she explained, running a hand through her messy brunette hair. Dean swallowed the lump forming in his throat, unsure why it was even developing. All he knew was that he didn't want her to go. Without thinking his hand shot out to catch hold of her arm and he smiled weakly.

"Stay. Please." She blinked at him for a moment then inclined her head towards him with an almost thoughtful expression on her face, returning to her spot next to him. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Dean broke it in a soft voice.

"It kind of hit me back there y'know? I knew that he'd gone to crazy lengths but I just didn't think he would go that far, even after everything that had happened with Gabriel. I know you and Sam said he would but until I had my back against that wall deep down I just couldn't bring myself to truly believe it," he admitted quietly. "The things he was saying… talking about Gabe and me like we were possessions. Not people. Hell he even said he wanted me to be his plaything. That I didn't have a choice. He was gonna _force_ me."

"When an angel embraces their dark-" Eloa began hesitantly.

"Don't talk to me like you're reading out of some sort of angelic handbook Eloa. Not now. I don't think I can deal with that right now."

"Then what would you like me to say?" she asked gently. "Or would you rather I just listened?"

"I don't know," he replied running a hand through his hair uncertainly. "I just need you to stay because if I do need to talk then I can't tell Sammy. At least not about this."

"I understand," she murmured sweetly, twisting one of her brunette locks around her finger before letting it spring back in a curl. They lapsed into silence once more, uncomfortable this time after all they had discussed but somehow Dean didn't mind too much because, although it was tense, it was also therapeutic in a way, knowing someone was there if he decided to 'bare his soul'.

"Did you know that Lucifer is actually shit in bed?" Eloa said suddenly after a few minutes. Dean over to her and blinked at her uncertainly.

"What?"

"Well you know, with all his big bad reputation as the Morning Star, the once brightest angel in all of heaven and the King of Hell you would think he would be a good lay wouldn't you?" she replied, the words coming out rushed and almost slurred by their speed.

"Huh…" Dean huffed out in confusion and disbelief.

"But he just wasn't," the angel continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I mean, sure, he was _average_ but you would think that an archangel would be _mind-blowing_ or at the very least amazing not just run-of-the-mill. Maybe he picked up some tips from Sam when he-"

"Eloa, are you blabbering?" Dean interrupted incredulously, raising his eyebrows in a mixture of amusement, shock and a little bit mortified that she was about to mention Sam's possible sexual prowess to him of all people. Eloa gave him a small, embarrassed smile and bit her bottom lip slightly.

"Erm, maybe a little," she admitted, tucking a strand of her hair back behind her ear. "Distraction from awkwardness attempt…ish?" The Winchester shook his head with a grin that threatened to turn into a smirk quirking at the corners of his mouth.

"Ish?" he mocked. "That's adorable. Since when do angels 'ish' anything?" Eloa rolled her eyes at him pointedly.

"You're a dick." Dean shrugged his shoulders, still having to hold back his smirk.

"It's a skill. Most angels have it as well y'know. Even the ones with girly parts like Anna," he told her good-naturedly nudging her with his elbow. Eloa snorted in a rather unladylike fashion in amusement and nodded.

"I must admit that most of my siblings are dicks," she confirmed brightly. "I think they learnt it off Michael. Blame Michael for everything – he's the eldest."

"Hey! The eldest isn't always to blame you know," Dean protested with a grin. "Personally I think it's the younger ones to blame for copying them."

"Not in my experience," Eloa teased with a small giggle while Dean shook his head. They carried on laughing for a little while longer before going quiet again.

"Thank you," the human eventually murmured the mood shifting to serious immediately as Eloa's brow furrowed in confusion.

"For what?"

"For coming to save me," he replied faintly. Eloa let out a quiet chuckle, expression softening into a gentle smile as she placed a hand on his unmarked shoulder. Green eyes met doe brown as he looked back at her with a thoughtful look on his face.

"You're welcome," the angel told him affectionately before tilting her head to one side with a mischievous smirk. The expression threw him a bit, uncertain what it meant. "Hey…doesn't this count as a… what do you call it? Chick flick moment?" Dean grinned and let out a breathless snigger.

"No, it doesn't."

"No? Definitely not?" she asked coyly. Dean frowned slightly studying her in a friendly way then shaking his head.

"Definitely and don't let anyone say otherwise. 'psecially not Sammy."

"Right…and what about if I do this?" she asked before leaning forward and pressing a soft, almost shy kiss to his lips and then pulling back. Dean blinked at her in shock, silent for a moment.

"Yeah…that definitely makes it a chick flick," he murmured before pulling her back in for another. Eloa giggled against his lips.

"Guessing you don't mind all that much."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Gabriel-_

One of the first things Gabriel noticed when he started to wake was that the arms encircling him and the muscular chest that he was using as a pillow wasn't Castiel's. His first emotion upon waking, therefore, was panic. Pure, unadulterated panic, because Castiel was going to be _pissed_ and nothing good could ever come from that. Quickly he sat up, frantically looking around the room before the arms surrounding him gently pulled him back down and a familiar voice started murmuring soothing nonsense words in his ear. After a moment he relaxed and the past few hours caught up with him; Michael's visit, Sam saving him, using his limited grace to get Sam out of the house alive all coming back within the space of a few seconds.

"Sam?" he whispered shakily, looking up a little so he could see the youngest Winchester's face. He smiled back at him and moved one of his hands into Gabriel's hair, stroking gently. The archangel closed his eyes at the contact, pressing his face back into the muscles of Sam's chest and soaking it in after only having any kind of intimacy with Castiel since he'd first been captured.

"Hey Gabe," Sam replied quietly and Gabriel all but snuggled into him with a soft humming sound, trying to ignore the sick feeling that was starting in his stomach that was screaming _wrong, wrong, wrong._ Castiel's influence, of course, the bond was trying to drag him back to his master. (And maybe it wasn't so much drag as lead him back, although it would hurt like hell to admit it to anyone, even himself.)"How are you feeling?"

"Drained," Gabriel told him truthfully, his voice muffled as he was talking into Sam's chest. Hot tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes and on to Sam's shirt. "And I can feel him. Castiel. He's so angry Sam. He wants me back with him and he wants you dead because he thinks it's entirely your fault. He hates you more than anything in existence. It's kind of funny, feeling his emotions on top of my own. Kind of overwhelming." Sam's hand stopped moving in his hair and Gabriel swallowed thickly at the lie because it wasn't overwhelming in the sense that Castiel's emotions were strong or that they were opposing his own. Not really. No matter what he was trying to tell himself. It was more his own emotions, stretched and misshapen by the bond, that overwhelmed him and tore at him; the love he shamefully had begun to succumb to from the grace bond versus the love that had been in his heart for Sam for so long.

"Is that normal?" the youngest Winchester brother asked. Gabriel made a soft choking sound that was something akin to laughter.

"Across distance? Rare but possible. After all, I'm an archangel and he's a raging psychopath." He knew that wasn't quite what Sam meant but the human must have sensed his reluctance to talk about it and easily carried on with Gabriel's topic diversion.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Just…distract me. It'll pass eventually," the archangel muttered, burrowing further into the warmth and security of Sam's body, forcing himself to ignore the bond shouting in his head about disloyalty and adultery. The taller of the two men let out a small sigh.

"Gabriel, I know you probably don't want to talk about it right now but I need to know..." he began carefully. Gabriel cut him off weakly, pressing a kiss to the cloth of Sam's shirt.

"If there is one thing I do know Sam, it's that I love you. Just don't make me think about it too much right now. There are too many things that have happened to me recently." The words were almost painfully true but in a way it helped to say them out loud, dulling the other words that were screaming in his mind. He felt Sam nod above him and place the lightest of all kisses to his hair. A gesture he couldn't help but find sweet.

"Well, when you're ready and for what's it's worth, I know I love you too."


	22. I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing

_**A few hours later…** _

_-Dean-_

Quietly, so as not to wake the other occupants of the motel, the eldest Winchester brother and Eloa crossed the dimly lit corridor between Dean and Sam's room and knocked lightly on the door. There was a small scuffling sound behind it before the door clicked open and Sam filled the doorway, hair mussed and eyes slightly bleary.

"Hey," Sam murmured with a small smile, moving aside to let them in. "Gabe's sleeping so probably best you try and stay quiet." Dean nodded with a knowing smirk ushering Eloa into the room in front of him before following himself. Sam closed the door behind them softly, glancing over to the sleeping form of the youngest of the archangels on one of the queen sized beds to make sure he hadn't been disturbed.

"I didn't think angels slept," Dean muttered, taking a seat on the other bed. Eloa shook her head and sat down beside him, close enough that their legs were just brushing lightly, while Sam took the chair by the dresser.

"If we're drained enough then we will, particularly if we're emotionally unstable," she told them in a hushed voice. "And I don't doubt that Gabriel is. He's been through a lot."

"Definitely," Sam agreed looking over to the archangel again with a worried expression on his face. Dean rolled his eyes at his brother in a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"Dude, he's not gonna disappear within the space of a few seconds. Stop panicking," he said teasingly with a small grin. Sam glared back at him before his eyes flickered back to Gabriel. Eloa nudged Dean in the side gently and the eldest Winchester got her meaning immediately – stop annoying your brother, he sighed in frustration but did as she asked.

"We don't know that he won't," Sam argued softly. "When he woke up earlier I thought he was just gonna jump up, run away from me and go straight back to Castiel. The expression on his face…Dean, I honestly don't know how much he was faking for Castiel anymore."

"He wouldn't have been able to leave with you if he'd been fully bent to Castiel's will," Eloa replied with a small frown. "But…" she glanced over to the occupied bed and bit her lip. "Even the strongest of resistances can crumble. Perhaps he began to break before we got to him. Did he seem reluctant to leave?"

"At times, yeah, as soon as he knew Castiel was aware of our plan he wanted to go back to the room and for me to go get Dean. And when my life was in danger he wanted to go back as well," Sam admitted nervously. Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise; he and Gabriel had never exactly been best friends. It was unexpected that the archangel was willing to stay in order to ensure his safety. "What are the chances that Castiel can get to him if he's partially broken? He already mentioned he could feel his emotions from here."

"At a distance I doubt he can be forced to go back by the bond but at close range it would be a very risky gamble whether he would be able to resist or not. I would presume that it would all depend on Gabriel's state of mind when Castiel is trying it," Eloa replied honestly. Dean ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Then we need to keep Gabe away from Castiel as much as possible?" he asked.

"I would have thought that was a given," Sam said sharply as Eloa shook her head a little.

"It would be preferable if we could keep him away but…if we're attacked while I'm still cut off from my army then we will need him. It will be unavoidable," she told them looking a little defeated even as she said it. Sam let out a resentful huff and scowled at her pointedly.

"You can't be serious."

"We took him from Castiel. You know he'll want him back. Gabe's gonna be his target and with the manpower that he has? He's gonna get to him however much we try and hide him. All we can do is be prepared and try to limit the damage when he does," Dean replied in Eloa's defence, knowing his point was actually sensible. Sam let out a sigh, nodding to show he acknowledged Dean's reasoning as the truth before standing up in frustration.

"So what do we do?" he asked, moving to sit by Gabriel instead and making sure not to wake the archangel as he did.

"We keep moving. Different town, different motel every night until Balthazar gets in contact with Nate or Maia and we have the support of my soldiers," Eloa said tiredly.

"Who are they?" Dean asked.

"My Generals. They're my equivalent of Lucifer. Only much better and a lot more agreeable," she replied smiling a little.

"What about Balthazar? Don't they still think he's Castiel's general?" Sam pointed out with a frown, looking back to Gabriel and gently stroking his hair as if it was an automatic action. Dean raised his eyebrows but didn't comment, putting an arm around Eloa's waist instead.

"He has my token. It won't matter. They'll know to trust him," the angel explained leaning against him slightly. Sam looked up and his lips quirked up a little in amusement when he saw them before he became serious again.

"Fair enough," he replied turning back to Gabriel. "Running until we can fight sounds like the best option, if our only option."

"It is our only option Sammy. We don't stand a chance otherwise," Dean said pointedly. Sam nodded slowly and started stroking Gabriel's curls once more as silence fell between them.

"Then that is what we will do."

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_**Meanwhile…** _

_-Castiel-_

He was furious; there were no other words for it, and hatred thick as tar seemed to seep through his veins for the two people who had done him wrong. Sam Winchester and Eloa. They had taken what was his; his mate and also his rightful consort (despite Dean's reluctance to be so) and they would die for such offences. Painfully at that. Yet he couldn't think about how they would meet their demise in that moment – too full of rage to even contemplate more than that they would be killed. He paced the length of the room angrily while Lucifer watched from his seat on one of the black leather sofas, Michael sat comfortably beside him while his master ran one of his fingers gently up and down his closest arm. Stopping Castiel glared at them. They reminded him too much of Gabriel's beautiful submission from before.

"I want them back within seven hours," he growled darkly. Lucifer raised his eyebrows and Michael stared at the younger angel both seeming rather confused.

"Them?" Lucifer repeated mildly, gently tugging Michael's side so the elder archangel was pulled tighter against him.

"Gabriel _and_ Dean," Castiel stated intently. "They are _both_ mine."

"My old vessel?" Michael murmured quietly, relaxing in Lucifer's grip and allowing himself to be drawn closer to the Devil. "He is much more difficult to bend than Gabriel. Much like me."

"You were broken," Castiel replied warningly.

"It was truth and love that made me see the light. I did not break. I made a choice. The right choice," Michael argued simply. "Dean, on the other hand, will have no such persuasion after seeing what you have done to Gabriel in his place and what you tried to do to him."

"Lucifer, control your mate," Castiel ordered dangerously, a new spike of rage shooting through him at the insinuation in Michael's words.

"Or what?" Lucifer said in a similar tone but he slipped his fingers through Michael's golden collar in warning anyway, much to Castiel's pleasure. It was nice to know he had some semblance of control in his army even if his submissives had forgotten their place.

"I do not need to answer that question now, do I?" he asked before continuing without waiting for an answer. "Ready the army. In six hours we attack Eloa and Sam Winchester to recover my mate and my consort."

"But we don't even know where they are…" Lucifer said with a frown as Castiel made his way over to the door. The younger angel glanced back over his shoulder at the devil's words and glowered at him with ice cold blue eyes.

"Then I suggest you also find that out."


	23. This Is War

**A/N: So this is the next to the last chapter guys! :O I really hope you enjoy this one :)**

" _A warning to the people,  
_ _The good and the evil,  
_ _This is war.  
_ _To the soldier, the civilian,  
_ _The martyr, the victim._  
This is war." – 30 seconds to Mars, This is War

_**5 hours later…** _

_-Eloa-_

It was practically silent in the motel room, Dean's breathing the slightest exception as his chest rose and fell steadily in his sleep. Lying close beside him on the queen sized bed, head rested on his chest, Eloa smiled and closed her eyes. They had left Sam and Gabriel in the other motel room after deciding their next course of action and she had been forced to practically make Dean go to bed after that, almost losing her temper in the process. Dean had eventually agreed but only under the condition that 'they did this relationship shit properly' and she would stay with him rather than 'fly off somewhere'. Hence why she was still there. Really she should have joined Balthazar searching for her army but, in her eyes, the Winchesters came first. Particularly Dean and also exceedingly more after the ordeal he had been through not long ago. Nuzzling a little into the eldest Winchester's chest she let out a soft sigh, trying to avoid the unsettling feeling in her stomach that she couldn't quiet place meaning to. As if sensing her discomfort Dean let out a small groan and slowly opened his eyes.

"Stop thinking so loud," he muttered, his voice slightly muffled from waking. Eloa opened her own eyes to look up at him in both surprise and confusion.

"I didn't know I was projecting," she replied seriously, frowning at her slip up.

"You're not 'projecting' or whatever that means, " Dean told her, sitting up a bit and rolling his eyes. Eloa moved with him so she was no longer leaning against him. "I can tell that you're brooding," the human continued. "Seriously, I swear I have some kind of in-built angst radar – I blame growing up with Sam. The kid doesn't know when to stop." Eloa stared at him for a moment before giving him a light push to make him lay back down and wriggling into her original position so he couldn't sit up again.

"Go back to sleep Dean," she murmured, effectively changing the subject. The eldest of the Winchester's didn't reply, although Eloa could sense he wanted to, but kept his emerald gaze fixed on her pointedly to show he wasn't impressed. Ignoring him, she closed her eyes to block out his expression. She knew he would give up eventually even if just for a little while. Silence fell between them for a long moment before Dean let out a sigh and pulled her closer with one arm.

"Freaking cryptic angel," he murmured in a slightly aggravated tone.

"Uh huh," Eloa agreed half-heartedly, pressing her vessel's cheek into the soft cotton of his t-shirt and letting her hair shroud her face. "It's part of the job description."

"Then you need to get another job." Eloa smiled a little at that and let out a short laugh, looking up and pressing a kiss on the exposed flesh just below his throat.

"Funny guy," she commented sarcastically. Dean chuckled and let out a small noise of agreement.

"I'm nothing if not hilarious."

""Know what I find even more attractive than a funny guy?" she asked quietly. Dean smirked a little and stroked her hair out of her face. Her gaze flickered back to his for a moment in amusement.

"Hmmm, what?"

"A guy who goes to sleep when he's told to," the angel replied pointedly. Dean let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

"Bitchy but fine, I will," he told her slightly sarcastically before settling down further and obediently closing his eyes. "Wake me up when you want me up."

"Of course." They lapsed into silence once again after that, Dean's breathing slowly becoming more relaxed as the minutes passed. When she was sure he was asleep again Eloa also let her eyes flicker shut and allowed the steady movements of Dean's chest lull her into the angelic equivalent of sleep, nestling into his torso with a small smile. It was peaceful like this and she hadn't felt peaceful for a very long time. Between evading Lucifer in the cage and fighting on the various sides of the new war she hadn't had much chance to relax. Without thinking she let her wings spread out and cover them both, partially out of fatigue and also to some degree as protection, keeping her senses out for fluctuations of grace magic in the nearby area. She didn't really expect anything to come up but it was a good idea nevertheless and the tension from keeping her wings cramped into her vessel all the time was gone – an added bonus. A few minutes after she did, however, her peace was ruptured when a large flux of such magic sped through the air and practically collided with the feathers. Immediately she sat up in shock, waking Dean up in her abruptness. He blinked bleary at her as she sat up, tucking her wings away before his eyes could focus on them and be damaged.

"'Loa? What's wrong?" he asked groggily as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes. She didn't answer for a moment, silently reaching out her senses a little further to find the source. Panic swept through her when she located it.

"Gabriel…" she murmured, rushing out of the room and into the archangel's without a thought, breaking the door down when it got in her way. Dean followed behind her straightaway, instantly wide awake and on the lookout for the danger, gun in hand.

"Eloa? What's going on?" he asked urgently as she shook the archangel awake. Sam crashed in from the bathroom a moment later, gun cocked and ready, when he saw Eloa he frowned and lowered his gun.

"Eloa?"

"There's no time to explain!" she told them quickly as Gabriel finally awoke, looking confused. "We just need to get out of here."

"Just wait a minute while we grab-"

"There's not enough time!" she interrupted frantically as Gabriel eyes widened a little, clearly feeling the power too even though he had only just woken. He scrambled out of the bed within seconds practically jumping into Sam's arms. The younger Winchester's arms tightened around him instinctively to protect him from the unseen danger.

"Castiel," the shorter man whispered, horror colouring his tone as he pressed himself closer to Sam's chest. "He's locating me through the mate bond."

"We need to go," Eloa added, trying to stress her point but not knowing how. Beside her Dean tensed before nodding.

"Air angel?" The female angel nodded, grabbing both his hand and one of Sam's. Seconds later they were in a new yet very familiar location; Stull Cemetery. Gabriel looked around from where he was stood in Sam's protective hold with a small frown as Eloa let both the Winchester brothers go.

"Why here?" he asked carefully, still shaking a little from his anxiety.

"I'm hoping the leftover magic here will block your bond for a little until we are ready to face Castiel and his army," the other angel told him simply.

"How long will that be?" Sam said darkly, stroking Gabriel's hair in an attempt to soothe him. Eloa sighed and shook her head.

"When we would be ready? Not for while. How long until Castiel finds us? Not long. Too soon whatever way you look at it," she replied. Glancing around she manifested her blade and crouched down, starting to cut protective sigils in the grass while Gabriel started to panic. She left Sam to soothe him, ignoring the burning glares the younger Winchester shot at her back for scaring him. It wasn't her intention to frighten Gabriel but she wasn't going to lie either. The chances were Castiel would find them very soon and, even if Balthazar managed to find and convince her generals, her army would not arrive in time to help them. Cutting her palm she began other set of sigils over the first, this time in blood, to strengthen them further. She was so wrapped up in her task she didn't notice Dean had crouched down next to her until he spoke.

"Do we stand any chance at all?" he murmured quietly, gaze flickering to Gabriel nervously. He clearly didn't want the terrified archangel to hear. Eloa swallowed and shook her head slightly.

"Honestly? No. Unless we have some kind of miracle I'm as good as dead, same with Sam. The only thing we can do now is keep hiding and, when the time inevitably comes, fight as hard and as long as we possibly can," she admitted simply, her hand healed as she spoke and she went to cut it again for more blood but Dean stopped her, taking her bloodied hand with his own.

"There has to be something we can do. I won't let you or Sammy die. Not today and not ever. Not while I'm around." She paused and looked up at him; defeated brown eyes meeting brilliant emerald that sparkled brightly with the strength of his conviction. She shook her head and let out a small sigh before withdrawing her hand and looking down at her work again.

"We can fight and we can die," she told him firmly, slashing her blade across her hand once more. The blood bloomed quickly in the cut, trickling down her wrist as she continued to paint sigils with it. "All that's left is our final stand and we will protect you, both of you, with our lives."

"'Loa-" Dean began to argue.

"No," she cut across him. "Save Sam if you can but do not try to save me. If it is my time to die then so be it. At least I will die for good reason."

"Don't do this. I'm practically the king of distancing myself but…maybe I sound like a girl right now, but we need to pull together. Don't try and push me away," Dean pleaded softly, trying to take her hand once again. She quickly moved it out of his reach, manifesting two more blades of angelic warriors who had fallen in one of her many battles with Castiel's army and pressing them into his palms instead.

"Give one to Sam and be ready to fight when they find us," she ordered, eyes locked on the ground to avoid his scrutiny. Silence fell between them for a moment before Dean's fingers finally locked around the weapons and he stood, walking over to his brother and Gabriel without another word. Eloa choked back a sob too quiet for him to hear as she continued her work, glancing at his retreating back for a second before looking back to her sigils. "And never forget that I love you."

"He will," a snide voice replied smugly. "I'll make sure of it." Her head snapped up instantly just in time to see Castiel's smirk before his foot lashed out and kicked her in the face. She went down with the hit, lip splitting with force of it. Recovering quickly, she scrambled to her feet and held blade at the ready, anger flashing in her eyes as she healed.

"I won't let you," she growled at him, eyes flickering to the others. She could already see Sam and Lucifer fighting while Gabriel and Dean fought another group of Castiel's warriors. Castiel chuckled, manifesting his own blade threateningly.

"You can't win Eloa. This is just half of my soldiers. My army is vast and you are alone. Surrender and I may let you live."

"Liar," she hissed before attacking, slicing her blade down in a vicious arc towards his head. Castiel reacted automatically and parried her blow, locking their blades together for a moment.

"Maybe so but I did offer," he mocked before pushing her away with a sneer. "You can't say fairer than that."

"I would never give in to you. You disgust me," she replied as he attacked, scowling at the younger angel when their blades clashed once more.

"And you stole everything from me! First Gabriel, and now Dean's love! I will not let you carry on jeopardising my plans!"

"You ruined them yourself when you became this monster!" she told him angrily, ducking his latest blow with practised ease and counter attacking smoothly.

"The only monster here is you!" he replied, defending and shoving her roughly with his shoulder, she stumbled back with a pained gasp and desperately tried to regain her footing. She brought her blade up in defence as he swung his knife down in a killing blow.

"They don't love you Castiel! Maybe they once did but now all they feel for you is hate!" she sneered at him in loathing. Castiel glared at her ice blue eyes darkening to an almost demon hue in his fury.

"They will learn to love me again. When you and Samuel are dead they will be mine! Forever!"

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Gabriel-_

He felt it as soon as Castiel arrived. A deep shuddering fear along with an almost bone chilling relief. The fear borne from the knowledge of the abuse that would come if Castiel was victorious and the relief coming from the bond that he so desperately wanted to reject but that had already begun to worm into his mind. He could feel the taint embedded deep in his grace and yet…he could feel his love for Sam fighting it. Sam Winchester was his strength, and so when Castiel's first set of warriors arrived just seconds after and Sam stepped forward to fight he was ready. He refused to be the victim anymore. He was the archangel Gabriel, messenger of God and the justice of Heaven.

And he was not afraid.

Tugging sharply on the bond he pulled some his grace's power back to himself, not caring if Castiel felt it, and manifested his blade before stepping into the fray back to back with Dean. The elder Winchester was fighting expertly, and Gabriel had expected no less, but it was clear he was not as well trained in swordsmanship as his opponents. Without much thought Gabriel clicked the fingers of his free hand out of habit, materialising a carbon copy of himself to help Dean while he couldn't before carefully wounding one of his own attackers so they were incapacitated but not in danger of death. Even in danger he wouldn't lose his morals. No brother or sister of his would die by his hand unless they truly deserved it and, despite all he had done, that included Castiel. He also was no fool; Castiel would have ordered his soldiers to subdue but not kill himself and Dean. They were 'his property' after all. It would not do to kill them. Ducking the attack of another warrior and parrying the blow he searched out for Sam in the battleground. They were hopelessly outnumbered and Sam did not have the protection he and Dean had. Castiel wanted the younger Winchester dead and Gabriel could not allow that. As he looked he located Eloa, locked in fierce combat with Castiel and seemingly evenly matched, and flinched. She was injured badly but he took comfort in the fact that if she survived she would easily heal. Sam did not have such a blessing. He quickly disarmed his latest two attackers with a well practise movement, eyes still flickering between fighters to find the tall brunette. Eventually, after wounding several more of his siblings, he finally saw him although the situation the human was in only fuelled his fear. Sam was blade to blade with Lucifer with a weapon that could not even truly harm the devil let alone kill him. Immediately Gabriel froze in horror, forgetting himself in his panic with one single thought. Sam Winchester must not die. He was broken out of his thoughts a second later when a rough arm tugged at his hair and he whipped around, blade at the ready expecting another soldier. Instead he found himself facing Dean. The elder Winchester had a cut down the right side of his face and was smiling grimly.

"Do not space out on me now trickster," he growled before slashing down at an advancing attacker. "You actually wanna save Sam? Then help him!" The words had the desired effect and Gabriel nodded, helping Dean with his current opponent whilst looking for his target. Fighting fair with Lucifer would only get him killed – he had learnt that much from last time. The only way to defeat Lucifer was to play dirty. It wasn't difficult to find his mark, who was fighting noticeably close to the devil with a blade not his own.

Michael.

Forgetting about his internal promise about morals Gabriel made his way towards him determinedly. One lover for another was a fair trade and given the choice he knew Lucifer would pick saving Michael over killing Sam, no matter what Castiel ordered. And if not it didn't matter all too much to Gabriel because the youngest archangel had made his final choice.

At least one of his elder brothers was going to die today.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Lucifer-_

He had to admit, despite the futility of fighting for his cause, the younger of the two Winchester brothers was putting all his effort into their battle. That was partially why Lucifer had yet to crush him into the dust like he knew he could. It was…intriguing how his old vessel was so devoted to his youngest archangel brother he would even fight the devil and consequently die a painful and humiliating death.

"Why are you fighting when you know you can't win Sam? You will not save either of our brothers. You will only die. Why not give in?" he asked, honestly curious to hear his answer.

"Because I _love_ them. Not in the sick, twisted way that Castiel does. Eloa and I truly _love_ them!" the human hissed from between gritted teeth, attacking him with a rapid series of hits.

"You think I don't love Michael?" he said with a frown as he blocked the onslaught, surprisingly still not angry but rather interested instead. He did counter attack though, knocking Sam back a few steps. Sam's eyes flashed heatedly.

"I think you just want him because you know what you're doing is wrong and you wanna stick the middle finger up to your Father!" he replied dangerously. Lucifer couldn't help the flare of anger that coursed through him at that, ice cold fury taking over as he began to attack the brunette with increasingly powerful swings of his blade.

"This has nothing to do with _Him_. He doesn't care for any of us! If He did He would never have allowed any of this torment to befall any of his so called _precious_ creations," he shouted, disarming the human easily and going for the killing blow with undiluted venom.

"Lucifer!" a familiar voice yelled, travelling across the noise of their battlefield with its power. The devil froze with his blade just inches from Sam's chest when a wave of sheer terror and betrayal followed the words through his mate bond with Michael. His head snapped round to look at the speaker and a new bout of rage coursed through him at the sight that met his gaze. Gabriel held a beaten looking Michael on his knees in front of him one hand roughly grasping the young vessel's blonde hair and the other wrapped around to point his archangel blade above Michael's heart and grace. The threat was a clear warning and his eyes darkened in a mixture of hate and shock at his younger brother's treachery.

"You wouldn't," he hissed, grabbing Sam by the collar of his shirt and dragging him through the battles, only dropping him when they were a few metres away. Gabriel raised his eyebrows pointedly and gave him a nasty smirk.

"Try me. We'll see who the quicker draw is, _brother_."

"I know you Gabriel," he told the trickster carefully. "I have seen you vulnerable before. I have seen you grasping at straws. Do not mistake yourself by thinking I don't know exactly what you are thinking." Gabriel shook his head slightly but Lucifer ignored him, eyes flickering to Michael before returning to his younger brother. "You're scared. You think acting strong will hide your fear, that by doing this you can trick me. You're wrong Gabriel. I can see straight through you. As I have told you before I taught you all your tricks brother. I know them all." Gabriel's smug smile dropped and his blade hand twitched but he didn't react any further than that, staring Lucifer straight in the eyes as he replied.

"You may know my mind Luci but… _I know where your heart truly lies_." The feral grin returned and Lucifer spun round to face behind him just a second too late, recognising the words as his own and knowing what would happen next. The blade bit into his vessel's flesh easily and he let out a gasp even as the real Gabriel's breath washed over him, the image holding Michael flickering away. " _Right here_." A weak smile flitted on to the devil's lips, half in amusement and half in sadness.

"Well done…little brother..." A horrified scream of his name as the blade slid upwards into his already tattered grace, Michael's voice desperate in his despair, and then there was only darkness.

Lucifer, the Morning Star, the King of Hell and the Devil was dead.

_**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-** _

_-Eloa-_

The flash of Lucifer's dying light was what saved her life, the blast so powerful that the whole ground shook for a moment and Castiel lost his footing in time for her to grab her blade from the ground beside and finally disarm him. She held his blade behind his head in one hand while the other pointed her own at his throat, trapping him in her grasp.

"Surrender or die, just like your general," she threatened dangerously. Castiel scoffed, glancing around at his army who immediately started to converge around her threateningly. Her brown eyes flickered to follow his gaze for a moment before returning to stare challenging into his crystal blue orbs. It was clear the rest of his army had arrived, outnumbering them further. "Don't make this a race Castiel. Lucifer just lost one similar to it and now he's dead." The trapped male angel smirked at her.

"I'll take my chances."

"You're a fool."

"No Eloa, we both know that you won't kill me. You wouldn't risk Gabriel's sanity like that," he sneered in response. "You've backed yourself into a corner sister. You may have the knife to my throat but in the end it is you who is going to die." Another quick look around and she had to hold back her flinch. Both the Winchester and Gabriel had been subdued and were being held tightly by Castiel's soldiers, one with a knife at Sam's throat.

"Please Castiel…stop this and let the lust go," she pleaded softly. "They don't want to be with you. You have to accept that."

"I have to accept nothing," Castiel replied. "Now be a good girl and yield."

"I don't think she'll be doing that," a familiar voice commented cheerfully. The two leaders both looked round to the source of the noise; Castiel in surprise and confusion that quickly gave way to anger and Eloa with a smile.

"About time," she told the newcomer. Balthazar smiled back at her, flagged either side by Nate and Maia and behind them the rest of her army.

"Sorry honey, Cassie managed to scatter the trail pretty well. Looks like we came at just the right time," he replied light-heartedly. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"So you really did betray me…" Castiel murmured, glaring at the blonde angel. "And now you will die as well, alongside the vermin you have sided with." Without warning he shoved Eloa forward and grabbed her left arm from behind his neck and twisting it so she dropped his blade. A second later all hell broke loose as both armies charged each other, Castiel's prisoners forgotten in favour of attack. The fight was bloody and brutal but didn't last half as long as before. Castiel's army was tired and had already taken a beating while Eloa's was fresh and ready. The newcomers fell their opponents with swift and deadly ease while their leaders began their battle once more, both more vicious than ever.

"This is your last chance Castiel," Eloa warned him as they fought but there was no fire in her tone anymore, replaced by simple honesty instead.

"I don't need your chances," he hissed back dangerously. "I need your execution!"

"Then try harder!" she snapped back before kicking out suddenly and sending him sprawling in the dirt, his blade slipping out of his hand and flying out of reach. He smirked up at her from the ground and wiped away the blood gathering from his newly split lip, still arrogant even in defeat when she pointed her blade at his throat once more.

"What makes you so much better for them than me Eloa?" he asked with a darkly humorous look in his eyes. "You and I are not much different."

"I'm nothing like you," she spat back venomously. Castiel chuckled.

"Really?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to one side. "You've hurt people. You've kept secrets from the boys and manipulated them from the moment you met them. You've led hundreds of angels to their deaths in the name of freewill. You have fallen in love with Dean. You've fought Lucifer when you knew you would fail and fought both heaven and hell to protect them. You've done things you regret out of loyalty to them. You have bled for them, practically died for them and protected them from anything that you deemed as a threat. Just as I did before you. We are so alike it's almost scary, even with our different pasts."

"That may be so," she admitted, moving the blade a little closer to the flesh of his neck threateningly. "But I would never force them and, in the end, that is all that matters." Glancing across the battlefield she smiled slightly as Castiel rolled his eyes, noticing the fighting had ceased with Castiel's defeat. Few of the male angel's army was still standing and those who remained upright were detained by her own soldiers. Gabriel, Dean and Sam stepped forward from beside Balthazar and her generals looking a little cut and bruised but otherwise fine.

"What do we do now?" Dean asked quietly, eyes flickering between Castiel and Eloa as he stepped to beside her and took her free hand.

"We kill him," Nate said from his spot beside Balthazar, hate clear in his voice.

"No," Sam said quickly as Gabriel mirrored Dean's action with his own lover. "We can't kill him without risking Gabriel."

"Killing him would be cruel to Gabriel and a mercy to Castiel himself," Maia agreed. Eloa looked to her two disagreeing generals before her gaze fell back to Castiel, who was suspiciously silent as they discussed his fate. Their eyes met for a moment; blue and brown locking on to each other challengingly. The blue orbs sparkled wickedly with victorious knowledge. Castiel knew he was safe and somehow Eloa knew that he would never stop trying while he had that knowledge. A smile flitted on to her lips as the thought gave her an idea. One that would mean Castiel could never bother them again.

"We will recycle him," she announced. "Remould his grace into a soul and bring him back to Earth human _without_ his memory of angelic life." A few shocked gasps sounded from within the survivors of the other angel's army and Castiel's eyes widened before narrowing in hatred, the victory that was in them gone at her words.

"It makes sense," Balthazar approved with a nod.

"And it will be done," Nate agreed coolly.

"What of us?" a soldier from the remains of Castiel's army demanded. Eloa bit her lip uncertainly but Maia answered for her in a determined voice.

"You will share his fate." A small riot began from the remaining fighters, clearly angered by the idea but they were quickly subdued.

"And I will join them," another voice added, broken and devastated as the angel in question stepped forward out of the crowds with tear stained cheeks. Eloa turned to the speaker in shock.

"Michael?" The eldest of the archangels looked back at her with something akin to desperation.

"Either remould me alongside them or I will find a way to destroy my memories some other way. Even if that means I must join Lucifer in death," he insisted, clenching his fists.

"He broke," Gabriel whispered unnecessarily from in Sam's embrace. "Completely." There was silence across the whole of the field for a long moment, neither Eloa's army or the survivors knowing what to say. Eventually Eloa spoke, squeezing Dean's hand as she did.

"Very well."


	24. Broken Arrow

_**A/N: So this is the final chapter people. I had two endings (kind of) and I'm still debating as I write this but we shall have to see which one you get to read. :) It's only the last few lines that would be different anyway so it doesn't really matter. Whatever way it goes though I hope you enjoy it!** _

 

_**6 months later…** _

 

_-Gabriel-_

The last of the archangels sat hidden in the branches of one of the many thick oak trees lining the path up to the red brick house, invisible to all eyes other than those closest to him. It was a far cry from the owners last place of residence; not large or impressive but simple and practical instead, well suited for a single man in his thirties like the one sat reading on the couch inside. From his place in the tree Gabriel had a good view of him through the living room window; the dark hair of the vessel that was now his only form still eternally messy, skin still just as pale and eyes still just as blue even behind the black framed glasses he now wore. He went by the name Misha Collins these days but Gabriel still could only think of him as Castiel even if he was a different person without his memories of angelic life.

"Odd isn't it? How he can be so familiar and yet so very different," a voice murmured quietly beside him. The archangel jumped in surprise but not in alarm, he knew only four people would be able to see him, the branch moving with him and letting out a slight creak in protest. He glanced over to where the noise came from and smiled slightly at the figure beside him. Of course it would be Eloa. She was the only one who knew that he was this pathetic.

"You could warn a guy before you sneak up on him like that," he answered before looking back to what remained of his ex-tormentor. "People might hit out first ask questions later. I'm sure Deano wouldn't want me to mark up that pretty face of yours."

"I know you wouldn't," Eloa said with a shake of her head. "Besides, we know I would heal before I let Dean see me even if you did." Gabriel scoffed a little at that in amusement.

"I swear humans are a bad influence on us; making us vain and self-conscious."

"Don't blame them for things that aren't their fault. They didn't do anything," she told him, gently nudging him in the ribs. He held on to the branch to keep his balance and rolled his eyes at her.

"Does it really matter?" he asked pointedly, not looking at her in the eye. She shrugged but followed his gaze back to Castiel with a small sigh.

"That's not him you know. The man down there never hurt you. He doesn't even know you and even if he did he would never dream of putting you through that torment again," she replied softly. "Does Sam know you're still doing this? That you're still scared?"

"I'm not scared Eloa," he snapped before letting out a deep breath. "I just…needed to know he was still different. I needed to know he was still there." He didn't need to tell her that Sam didn't know – there was no way in hell Sam would have let him within a mile of Castiel's new persona, let alone this close. The youngest Winchester was very protective of him, something Gabriel was usually extremely grateful of, but this was something he had to do sometimes. It made him feel safe and sometimes he let himself remember exactly what Castiel had done to him; all the times he had used him for sex and Gabriel hadn't been able to do anything but enjoy it. And perhaps that was something that did scare him a little; that he had _liked_ it and even when Sam had been saving him he had partially wanted to just stay. He knew it was just the mate bond that had made him feel that way. His resistance had admittedly been crumbling and he had been close to losing himself to it. Yet that little part of him that hadn't wanted to be saved also didn't seem to have cared all too much. In fact, if he was honest with himself, it still called to him and drew him back towards Castiel. His _master_ his mind often whispered in a hiss – a correction almost - but he forced himself to ignore it. He was not Castiel's slave, not anymore. Eloa was silent for a moment after he spoke then let shook her head.

"He doesn't know then," she guessed. Gabriel bit back a curse. He had been avoiding the question but clearly Eloa wasn't going to let him off so easily.

"No he doesn't," he admitted before giving her a glare. "And he's not going to know either." It wasn't a request and he knew Eloa recognised that. He just hoped she would cave to his demand and respect that this was something Sam couldn't know. It was already difficult enough between them in their new relationship; Sam was so hesitant in everything and sometimes Gabriel just wanted him to let go and just have his way with him. Sam wasn't Castiel and, in the end, that was all that mattered to the archangel.

"Do you love him?" Eloa asked after another brief pause, her brown eyes wide with some unreadable emotion that Gabriel couldn't quite read. He frowned and glanced back to Castiel for a second before looking back to his companion.

"Which one?" he challenged, his honey gold eyes locking with the brown. Eloa gave him a sad smile, as if she could guess what was going on in his mind. Gabriel had to admit that she probably could.

"Both," she replied simply all the while keeping her gaze in line with his. They stared at each other challenging before Gabriel looked away and back to Castiel, eyes downcast and shoulders slumping in defeat. He didn't need to answer her with words and they recognized that fact. "Both…" the female angel murmured with another weaker smile. Gabriel knew what she was thinking; he was broken and fragile and needed protecting. It annoyed him but mainly because it was partially true. "Do you have a preference?" she asked quietly. Gabriel let out a shaky breath.

"I think that's obvious," the archangel told her before attempting at some bad humour to settle his mind. These were things he didn't want to even think about and it was well known jokes and tricks were his safety blanket – Eloa wouldn't be surprised by it at all. "If I didn't then I would totally be having some kind of three-way relationship with them – the sex would be fantastic." Eloa raised her eyebrows and then shook her head.

"Of course, my mistake," she replied and he was grateful she wasn't verbally calling him up on it. Clearly she hadn't learnt tack from Dean who had about as much tack as a rock. "But…if you are choosing Sam then you know this has to stop."

"This?" Gabriel repeated, feigning innocence.

"You're clinging to him Gabriel," Eloa told him, gesturing to the man in the house below them. "I know that the bond calls to you but, if you give in to it and keep on with these visits, he will come back to himself and he will not be kind, he will not treat you well and we won't be able to do anything about it." Gabriel felt a lump form in his throat at her words and he swallowed painfully. He hadn't realised the risk he had been taking with his frequent watching. All he had wanted to do was appeased the call of the mate bond. Only now it made sense; Castiel's mind still existed to some extent because it was still rooted into his subconscious. Even by just sitting here he was risking everything Eloa, Sam and Dean had done to save him.

"I didn't realise," he murmured honestly. Eloa let out a sigh and put a hand gently on his shoulder with an encouraging smile.

"Perhaps now you know it will be easier to let go," she said kindly. "Now I have to go; Balthazar needs me and Dean is also calling. Will you be alright on your own?" Gabriel nodded quickly and gave her a half-hearted grin.

"Yeah, I think it's time for me to say goodbye to him for good."

"Then I'll leave you to your privacy," Eloa replied as a form of farewell, letting go of his shoulder and standing on the tree branch. "I'll see you later for 'family night'." Gabriel let out a chuckle at the sarcasm in the last two words. The night was a new addition to their week and something Sam insisted upon. Both Eloa and Balthazar were quite scornful of it but Gabriel knew that, secretly, they cherished the time they set aside to all get together as a mini family.

"I look forward to it," he called after her as she took flight, knowing she would be rolling her eyes at him if she wasn't so far away already. Watching her until she was nothing more than a fleeting sensation of grace in the distance he closed his eyes, opening them when she was too far away to feel. He sighed after that and let his gaze wonder back to Castiel, blinking in confusion when he realised the ex-angel had moved from his position on the couch and was, instead, staring out the window. For a brief moment Gabriel panicked when the blue eyes seemed to fix on him, almost as if they knew he was there, but they looked away from him after about ten seconds and he let out a deep breath of relief. Of course he couldn't see him; only Sam, Eloa, Dean and Balthazar could. Shaking his head at his stupidity he dropped out of the tree, landing on his feet in the soft grass below. So this was it. The last time he would visit his former dominator. The man who wouldn't recognise him even if he did see him; would never know the hurt and damage he had caused to him. Without conscious thought his feet led him to the window the other man was looking out of so they were standing face to face with only a sheet of glass and an invisibility spell between them. Gabriel stared at the familiar face for a long moment before reaching out to the remains of the mate bond, forcing what was left of Castiel to hear him but making sure his new persona couldn't.

"I just want you to know," Gabriel said determinedly, using his restored grace to keep Castiel too deeply shackled in this new man's mind to break free. He could feel only the slightest resistance and it made him smile to know his ex-tormentor was trapped under his power. "You may have claimed half of my heart brother but you will never claim my mind. And _that_ is what makes me Sam's because he has always had both." He hesitated for a brief moment after he had spoken then turned away taking flight without as much as a glance back.

He was free now.


End file.
